You Can't Kill a Roach
by Coffee Monsta
Summary: It started with the nightmares, slowly eating away at him until he couldn't stand it anymore. Then it escalated. A person from his past came back to haunt him, leaving his heart shattered in a million pieces on the floor by the time they were done.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: OKAY! So, this is a new story (duh) that's been nagging at me for DAYS and its killing me, so I might as well just start writing it before it kills me. If you've read my other stories, then you know that I write really dramatic things and most of the time someone gets tortured... or captured... or BOTH! But, anyways, I should just start this before one of you guys die... that would be bad...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Call of Duty, just my OC (Luke).**

* * *

 _Shepherd' s evil smile was all he could see as he heard the shot from the .44 Magnum ring in his ears, a sharp pain in his abdomen following close behind. As he fell to his knees he heard a second shot ring out and someone yelling. He winced, wishing his ears would stop ringing. He had a killer headache. All he could feel was pain. He felt the warmth leaving his body as he dropped to the ground, laying on his side._

 _He listened as someone spoke quietly to the blurry figures standing above him. Their voices sounded far away... A pair of hands grabbed his wrists and another grabbed his ankles, picking him up. He cried out as they jostled his multiple wounds. He tried to wriggle out of their grasp, but he was getting so tired. The darkness at the edges of his vision was advancing. White hot pain flared up in his right side as he was thrown in a ditch, then a few moments later, another person was thrown in with him and landed on top of him._

 _The smell of gasoline filled the air and made his throat burn. He felt something wet and realized that someone was pouring gasoline all over them. He gagged on the terrible smell and could taste blood in his mouth. "That's just great." He thought, wondering if things could get any worse. As if silently answering his question, someone threw a match in the ditch and a fire rose to life, greedily devouring their uniforms and eventually reaching their flesh._

A pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and roughly shook him yelling, "Wake up Roach!" His hands immediately shot forward under his pillow to where he kept his combat knife hidden when he slept. A hand seized his and pinned them to the bed, preventing him from grabbing his knife. Panic surged through him until he heard Ghost's familiar voice.

"Roach, stop! It's just me!" Ghost said, noticing for the first time that Roach was covered in sweat and looked pale.

"Roach... are you alright?" He asked. Roach had recently started having nightmares and they were getting worse every time it happened. The whole task force was worried about him. Roach looked at him for a minute, the panic leaving his eyes.

"Ummm, yeah... I'm fine." He said, shoving Ghost's hands off of his and sitting up. He looked at the clock that sat on his bedside table. It read 4:00am.

"Why the bloody hell did you wake me up at 4:00 in the morning?!" He roared. Ghost just glared at him. They glared at each other for several minutes before he gave in. "Sorry, sir." He said, dropping his eyes from Ghost's icy glare.

"I just thought you might want to know that we have another op to go on. You have 10 minutes to get ready and meet the rest of the team at the helipad. You'll be briefed on the chopper." Ghost informed him before promptly turning on his heel and leaving the room.

* * *

Ghost sighed as he left the room. He was worried about Roach, who was getting grumpier by the day. They were going to have to have a talk about these nightmares. If they got any worse, Roach might have to take drugs that would (well...should) stop the nightmares, but would also get him declared 'unfit for duty' and he wouldn't be allowed back in the field until he stopped taking the drugs (which probably wouldn't help his mood).

He walked down the hall to his room and unlocked the door. He grabbed his ACR and a Desert Eagle, made sure they were fully loaded, and started for the helipad to meet with the rest of the team. He walked silently to the helipad, boots crunching on the freshly fallen snow. He could already see the group of men that were going on the op with them. Archer, Toad, Captain Price, and Captain MacTavish stood in a loose circle, probably talking about the mission they were about to go on.

Shortly after Ghost joined the group, Roach met up with them and they were on their way. Everyone got on the chopper and were all silent during takeoff. After they were in the air, Captain MacTavish turned to them and quickly gained their attention.

"Alright. We are headed to North Carolina. We believe we may have found a lead on Makarov. Supposedly, his supplier is holed up in North Carolina, so we need to catch him and get as much info as we can. If we are lucky enough to find him, do NOT shoot to kill. He's the only lead we've got right now, and the last thing I need is one of you lot killing the bastard."

Everyone nodded their understanding and settled in, preparing for the long ride ahead. Roach was sitting alone in the corner, nervously loading and unloading his sidearm. Ghost observed him for several minutes. Roach was usually calm and excited before an op, not tense and nervous. If he was nervous before an op, then he usually never let it show. It probably had something to do with the recently occurring nightmares...

He silently walked over to him and sat down beside him. Roach didn't seem to notice, as he was still loading and unloading his sidearm. He saw Price glance over at them and say something to MacTavish, who looked over at them as well.

"You alright, mate?" He asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Roach flinched and yelped slightly in surprise, nearly dropping his sidearm.

"Woah, easy mate. I just wanted to see how you were doing." He said, wondering why Roach was so jumpy.

He looked at him and replied, "I'm doing fine."

Ghost locked eyes with him and said, "Oh, really? Because you don't look fine, Roach. Tell me what's wrong."

Roach held his gaze for a moment, then looked down at the floor. "I don't know."

"Yes you do. Tell me. Now." He commanded.

"I...I just have this feeling." He said, not really knowing how to explain it. He still refused to meet his eyes, Ghost noticed.

Ghost looked at him confusedly. "...What sort of feeling?"

"It's just that... Well- I-I just feel like something is going to go wrong..." He trailed off. It was true, though. Something didn't feel right...

Ghost thought about what he had said for a moment. It took alot to make Roach nervous because... Well because he was _Roach!_ He was pretty sure no one could kill Roach, no matter how hard they tried.

"Nothing's going to go wrong, Roach. It'll be fine. Just relax, we have a long way to go," he said, waiting for the younger man to nod before getting up and going to sit in his original spot by Price and MacTavish. He could still hear Roach loading and unloading his gun. _Click...click...click..._

When he sat down beside them, Price looked up at him expectantly and asked, "What's up with Roach?"

"He feels like something is going to go wrong." He replied quietly, even though they were well out of earshot, Roach could hear _really_ well and he didn't want to chance him hearing their conversation.

"What could go wrong?" MacTavish asked sarcastically. A lot of the missions had gone _really_ wrong lately. Every time they went on a stealth mission, the enemy always knew they were coming and was ready for them. They still couldn't figure out how that kept happening.

"I'm pretty sure it's just nerves. He had another nightmare this morning and he still seems shaken up."

"You mean they still haven't stopped?" Price asked incredulously. The nightmares had started about two weeks ago and had gotten more and more severe as the days went by.

"No, this morning I went to get him for the op and he looked terrible. He was really pale and sweaty and when I tried to wake him up, he went for his knife."

The two Captains were too shocked to respond. Roach had never tried to attack any of his comrades before. It seemed that those nightmares really were getting to the poor kid. But yet he still refused to talk to anyone about it. Something seemed different... Then they noticed that the _click click click_ of Roach's sidearm being loaded and unloaded had stopped. They glanced over at him to find that he had fallen asleep, his sidearm sitting loaded in his lap.

"Should I-"

"No," Price interrupted, "let him get some sleep. He hasn't had any in a week."

"But he'll have another one..."

"And if he does then we'll wake him up, but we can't have him sleeping in the middle of an op. He'll get himself killed."

3 Hours Later...

Nikolai' s voice crackled over the speaker in the chopper, "ETA 15 minutes."

Captain Price stood up and got everyone's attention. "Alright, gear up and make sure you have everything you need, we'll be there in 15 minutes." There was a nod of understanding that rippled through the group of assembled men as they prepared for their arrival in enemy territory.

Roach was still sleeping soundly in the corner. MacTavish finished loading his M4A1 and walked over to Roach and grabbed his shoulder.

"Roach? Roach, wake up." He said gently shaking his shoulders.

Suddenly he flinched violently and nearly jumped up from the floor of the helicopter. He looked up at MacTavish and the panic left his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked, yawning and rubbing at his eyes.

"Hey, ETA' s 15 minutes. You ready?"

"Yeah... I guess," he said uncertainly. Roach still seemed unsure about the whole thing.

Soap offered him a hand and he took it, pulling himself up and going to sit with the rest of the Task Force. He made sure his main weapon and sidearm were fully loaded and he had extra clips so he wouldn't run out of ammo for a while.

He was ready.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, chapter 1 was kinda like a prologue and that's why it was boring. I PROMISE it will get more exciting though! I already know what's gonna happen, so I just have to put it into words and update, so it shouldn't take too long. But I do have school, so when I say it shouldn't take too long for me to update, I could be wrong... but I will try! :D**

* * *

Ghost and Roach moved silently through the forest, about 1/2 a mile away from their target's main building (where the target most likely is.) Archer and Toad should be in position by now up on the ridge, ready to provide sniper support. MacTavish and Price were on the west side. The plan was Roach and Ghost go in first, from the east and MacTavish and Price from the west, after Ghost says it's all clear on their side (they'll be using silenced weapons, of course.) Then the two Captains move in and clear out their side and they'll rendezvous at the main building. If somehow the alarm went off, plan B was to screw the stealth mission and use a frontal assault.

Roach, lost in his thoughts as he was, accidentally stepped on a twig. Ghost shot him a murderous glare that said, "If you do that again, I'll kill you myself." He silently berated himself for not focusing on the mission and continued on, talking extra care in not stepping on anything else. After nearly 10 minutes, they were in position.

"You two in position?" Price asked over the comms.

"Aye," Ghost replied.

"Took ya long enough," they heard MacTavish mutter. This was followed by a dull thud and they heard MacTavish say ow.

"Shut up, you bloody idiot," MacTavish said when he heard Roach laughing.

"Both of you shut up before me and Ghost tie you two to a tree and complete the op by ourselves." Price said, clearly amused at the relationship between the Captain and Sergeant.

"Will you guys shut up so we can just get the damn guy and leave? It's fuckin' cold out here!" Archer whined, as he had to lay prone in the snow to avoid being seen while providing sniper support.

"Yeah, it's too cold!" Toad chimed in.

"Alright fine, you whiny babies. Team one, move in." Price ordered.

"Roger that, Team one moving in." Ghost replied, advancing on the east side of the building.

Roach followed close behind. They reached the door, and oddly there were no guards. This was definitely weird. Ghost gently turned the handle. The door was unlocked. An uneasy feeling crept into Roach' s stomach, but he pushed it aside. _Focus on the mission._ He thought to himself, trying to stay focused. Silently, Ghost opened the door and slowly walked into the building, watching where he stepped to make sure there were no hidden trip wires or alarms.

There were stairs that led up to the 2nd story of the building and Ghost told Roach to take the stairs and meet him back here when he was done clearing out the 2nd floor. He nodded and went up the stairs. Upstairs, there was a long hallway with several doors on each side. The closest one to him was on his right. He stood by the door for a few moments, trying to calm his nerves. He reached over and grabbed the handle and quickly yanked the door open. He was met with an empty room. He checked his corners and the closet and every other possible hiding spot he could think of. There was nothing in this room.

He checked the next room and the one after that, but they were all empty too. Then he came to the fourth room. He stood by the door a few seconds, then quickly breached the room. As soon as he was in the room, he knew something was wrong. He barely even had time to glance around the room before someone grabbed him from behind. His gun was wrenched out of his hand and he heard his knives and pistol clatter to the floor as the man took all of his weapons. Another man walked to the door and shut it and locked it. He tried to yell, hoping Ghost would hear him, but the person held a cloth over his nose and mouth and he couldn't yell without breathing in whatever was on the cloth. He fought against them and still refused to breathe. That didn't work for long. There were 3 men in the room. One held rope in his hands and was watching, the second one was the one that grabbed Roach, and the third one was coming to help the second.

Roach threw his elbow back, aiming for the man's gut. The man dodged it and the third man grabbed Roach' s arm and kicked it hard at the elbow, breaking his arm. Roach screamed, inhaling the sweet smell that was on the cloth. It was so sweet it made him gag. He could feel his arms and legs going numb, and spots were appearing on the edges of his vision. Vaguely, he could hear Ghost on his radio, asking what happened and if he was okay. The man holding the rope came forward and grabbed his radio, threw it on the floor, and smashed it.

In a matter of seconds his whole body was numb and he went limp. The world was dark.

* * *

Ghost watched as Roach went up the stairs. The kid was doing well, but that didn't make him worry any less. He sighed and silently went to work on making sure the first floor was clear. The first floor was mainly a large open space, but there were a few doors around the room, so he would check those. He checked all the rooms, but they were all empty. It had been about 15 minutes since he and Roach entered the building. Roach should be done by now, he thought.

A muffled scream rang out over the comms and everything went downhill from there.

"Roach? Roach, what happened?!" Ghost asked, starting to panic. Couldn't the mission go right just _once?_ Roach didn't respond, but there was a loud bang and a crack then all went quiet.

"Ghost, give me a sitrep," MacTavish commanded.

"Something's wrong, I'm gonna go find Roach." He said, starting towards the stairs.

"... Okay, proceed with caution."

"Copy that."

He slowly went up the stairs and saw that 3 of the doors in the hallway were already open. He went to the first one and searched the room, but it was empty. The second and third rooms were the same. He came to the fourth room and it felt different. He couldn't explain what had changed, but something did. He listened expectantly, but everything was quiet. He reached for the handle and tried to breach, only to realize the door was locked. Growling in frustration, he kicked the door in and immediately brought his ACR up into firing position.

This time, the room wasn't completely empty. On the floor, in the center of the room, were Roach' s weapons and dog tags. But Roach was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: You people should review! I love reviews and I refuse to upload the 3rd chapter until I get at least three reviews on this story! I know, I'm mean, but I'm also a softie, so I probably will update even if I don't get any reviews... but reviews make me happy, so REVIEW! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Ugh... I didn't get my reviews... But who cares? I certainly don't, because angst makes me happy and this story will be really angsty so I will live! :3**

The man they were sent to capture was unconscious. Now the rest of their job would be easy. He sighed contentedly as he tied the man's hands and feet together and gagged him. With a grunt of effort he picked him up and told his companions it was time to get going. They hurried down the fire escape and headed for the woods, where they would meet up with a pilot who was coming to take them back to base. He thought about the mission. The man's partner had made their job a whole lot easier by splitting up with him. Instead of having to fight one while you knock out the other, they just had to grab the man and go. It wasn't as hard as they imagined it being, but then again, it was three against one. Not really what you'd call a 'fair fight' but who said life was fair?

They had been walking for about half an hour when they heard a muffled groan. The man was awake. That was the downside to using chloroform, it was quick and effective but the effects didn't last long.

The man gasped as he realized he was unable to move and was being carried by an unknown person. He struggled and tried to yell for help, only to realize he was gagged.

"Stop that." The man who was carrying him said, clearly annoyed.

That only made him struggle harder. He looked around and could tell they were in the forest, but he couldn't see any familiar landmarks (that could be because he was upside down...)

"I said to stop moving!" The man said angrily.

He glared at him and continued his futile attempts at getting loose. The man sighed and without warning, threw him on the ground. He winced in pain as he hit the ground hard. His two companions stopped to watch. The man pulled a syringe with a yellowish liquid in it from one of his pockets and jabbed it into his neck before he could do anything. He hissed in pain and jerked back slightly. He squirmed uncomfortably and the man put a hand on his shoulder to keep him still. The man put the empty syringe back in his pocket and watched his eyes, waiting to see them glaze over to show that he wasn't conscious anymore.

After about a minute or so, everything started to get blurry. The trees that surrounded them turned into a massive blob of gray and white. Slowly the colors got darker and darker until finally, they faded to black. The man saw his eyes glaze over and checked his watch. They needed to move. They were supposed to be at the exfil point in 10 minutes. He picked the man up again and they continued on, his companions trailing behind him to make sure it looked like no-one had been here.

They reached the exfil point right on time and got on the helicopter. The man wasn't supposed to wake up for at least 6 hours, but just to be careful they handcuffed him to one of the seats. They should be back at base in about 5 hours, which gave them plenty of time to rest, but he didn't feel like it. He was too excited to sleep.

* * *

The team had searched the whole building and every square inch within a 2 mile radius, but they couldn't find any signs of which direction they had gone. The only things they had found were Roach' s weapons, dog tags, and radio, which was smashed into a million pieces.

"What are we going to do?" Archer sighed.

They had just regrouped after doing a complete sweep of the area. Now they were all sitting in the main room on the first floor, trying to figure out what their next move should be.

Suddenly Toad jumped up excitedly saying, "Wait! Remember when Roach first joined the 141? Didn't we give him a tracker?"

"You mean the one in his arm?"

"Yeah! Do you think he still has it?"

"It's worth a shot, I guess. But with our luck, I doubt it." Ghost said, reaching for the laptop they always brought with them in case they needed to use it.

He brought up the files and found Roach's, which contained the number of his tracker- 82177. He typed in the number and searched the location and a red dot appeared on the screen. It was almost 4 miles away.

"Alright, let's go. He's probably long gone by now, but there might be something there that'll help us find him." Price said, standing up and heading for the door.

20 minutes later...

They were almost there. It was really cold here. The snow melted off the long curved tree branches and fell to the ground. The trees were gray with no leaves on them. They had already fallen off for the remainder of the year. Everything was covered in white, there wasn't anything else in sight. Just snow and trees on and on and on, until they reached the horizon in the distance.

His eyes scanned the area, searching for possible enemies. Then he stopped.

"Hey. Over there..." He said, pointing to a large bright red spot in the snow. Surely that wasn't what it looked like...

"This doesn't look good..." MacTavish said, quickening his pace.

They jogged to the spot and didn't like what they saw. It was a puddle of blood. The blood was shockingly bright red in the snow. It wasn't large enough for someone to have bled out- probably just a large cut. Right by the blood, there was a small round object. Ghost slowly reached out and picked it up, sighing in disappointment when he realized what it was. It was Roach's tracker.

"Well, that's bloody wonderful." He said, holding it up so the rest of them could see.

"Oh, shit."

"How did they know about that?!" Toad said, clearly confused.

Ghost looked at him and glared. "Do I look like mind reader to you? I don't know how they knew about it!" He snapped.

"Hey! Calm down, we'll figure this out. We should head back to base. There's nothing else we can do here, he's gone and we won't be much help by just standing here like a bunch of idiots. Let's go back to base and look at the surrounding territory and see where they're most likely holed up. That's our best bet."

Everyone nodded agreement and they called Nikolai to come pick them up. Within the hour, they were headed back to base. He just hoped they could find him before it was too late.

* * *

 **Thankyou to MyLittleRobin! That is the only person who has reviewed out of like 82 people! I NEED MORE REVIEWS. LIKE RIGHT NOW. _RIGHT NOW! By_** **the way, there will probably be a lot of torture and blood and gore (that's why this is rated m) so I'm just giving you a heads up! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry I left you guys in a weird spot in the last chapter... I didn't really know what to do. But now I have a plan! Sort of... ish...**

Roach sat in a dark room, chained to the wall. He had woken up a few hours ago, but no one had come. His arm hurt really bad, no one had bothered to fix it. There was also a large, deep cut on his arm where he assumed they had taken out his tracker. That didn't feel good either. At all. The room had two tables on either side of it that held every kind of torture weapon you could possibly imagine. He shivered just looking at them. Silently, he wondered who these people were and what they wanted. He had been captured only once before but it wasn't a very nice experience.

His stomach grumbled and he realized he was hungry- then he thought about the fact that if they did give him food it probably had poison or some other bad thing in it, so it probably wasn't a good idea to eat anything. He sighed and wondered if his teammates would ever find him. That brought another question to mind- where was he? On the way here he was unconscious, so he wasn't really sure where he was. Well that's not good... He jumped as the door suddenly burst open to admit someone who looked familiar.

"Hello, Gary."

He gasped and tried to back away, only to remember he was chained to the wall. Now he knew who this person was.

"Leave me alone!" He shouted as his father strolled over to him.

His father's name was John Sanderson. He was a tall, lean man with the same brown eyes and dark brown hair as Roach. John leaned down and looked at his face, he hadn't seen him for nearly 5 years.

"Long time no see. So, what have you been up to lately?" He asked, standing up straight.

Roach remained silent and refused to meet his eyes.

"You don't feel like talking?" His eyes drifted to Roach's broken arm and he smiled.

"What happened to your arm? Did somebody break it?" He mocked, reaching down and touching his arm.

Roach screamed and kicked at him, but he was weak and slow so John simply moved out of the way. He could feel where the bone was broken. He let go of his arm and started pacing. He wondered why his men had such an easy time retrieving him and getting him here. He was a highly trained soldier who was part of a task force of the world's best handpicked soldiers. His men had told him that they had split up and that made the job alot easier. Either way, it didn't matter how they got him here, what mattered is that he had him right where he wanted him.

"Tell me about the task force you're in. Where's your base?" He asked, turning to look at him.

Roach's mind was somewhere else completely. He was really scared now, his father was a real asshole with a really awful temper. He hated his father and would love to kick his ass, but his fear of him overruled his hatred for him and therefore, he was too scared to face him.

"ANSWER ME WHEN I ASK YOU A QUESTION!" John yelled.

He quickly went to one of the tables and picked up a knife. He walked back over to him and dragged the tip of the knife down his face, not hard enough to draw blood though.

"It's okay, you can tell me. I'll tell you a secret... Your friends are dead. You have nothing left to be loyal to anymore. So tell me about them."

"No, you're lying."

"Now why would I lie to you, Gary? I never lie." He said, pulling a picture out of his pocket and holding it up for him to see.

It was all of his teammates, laying dead in a ditch. They were all covered in blood, some with knives stuck in them, others with bullet wounds. Price, MacTavish, Archer, Toad, Ghost. They were all dead. No... no it couldn't be true! He frantically strained to remember something- anything from before he was captured. He could remember everything up until he entered the fourth room in the hallway- then everything went black.

"They really are dead, Gary, and just to prove it to you, I'm going to leave this here with you so you can look at it all day. It's a gift." He set the picture down right in front of him, where it was always in his line of sight no matter which way he looked.

"They are not dead!" He yelled, trying to convince himself more than anyone.

"YES THEY ARE! And guess what? It's all YOUR fault!" John shouted with a malicious smile.

"What...?"

"Yes, Gary, it's _all_ your fault. You were supposed to be there for them, but you weren't and now they're dead because of YOU!"

He sat there, speechless. What had he done? Tears welled in his eyes as he thought of his teammates, his _friends_ _,_ dead. All because of him. All because he had made a mistake.

"...No...No NO! I don't believe you!"

"Well you should. Why don't you believe me? There's your proof," he said, gesturing to the picture, "what more do you need to know that you failed?"

He felt anger. A blinding stab of anger jolted through him. Why should he believe this dick anyways? He has always been a liar, why would he stop now? _Because he's finally won. He beat you, Roach._ A voice in his head said. No. It can't be true. He refused to believe it.

"There's no point in keeping it from me. They. Are. Dead. Do you understand? GONE FOREVER! SO TELL ME ABOUT THE TASK FORCE!"

"NO! I will NEVER tell you ANYTHING, you lying little shit!" Roach yelled. He was pissed.

" _WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME?!"_

"I CALLED YOU A LYING LITTLE SHIT!"

Before he knew what he was going to do, John cut him across the face. He yelped, not expecting him to be able to move that fast. He felt warm blood run down his face and drip onto the floor. The cut was deep and it stung and burned. His anger disappeared and was replaced with fear, as it had been so many times before. Now he had done it. When John got angry no one on earth would want to be within twenty feet of him. Then he did the last thing he expected him to do. He left. A few moments later, he came back with two other men and a metal chair. This didn't look good...

* * *

4 Days Later...

It had been a long four days. They were back at their base, which was in Indiana. Everyone was so busy trying to find Roach and he was fairly sure no one had gotten any sleep. They had informed all units of Roach's disappearance so they could keep an eye out for any possible leads. They had found none. Everyone on the team felt terrible for not believing him. He told them he had a bad feeling about that mission, but no one had listened to him and he got captured. They all felt that it was their fault, but Ghost probably felt the most guilt. He never should've split up with him. If he hadn't, Roach would probably still be with them.

He sighed as he looked over the map for probably the hundredth time. He was the last person still up. Captain Price had ordered everyone to get some rest, but he wasn't tired. Everyone else was already asleep. The nearest known enemy base (from where Roach was taken) was in Kentucky. The Ghosts' base was in Pennsylvania, they were also keeping an eye on things for them. They had already been on a few recon missions around the area, but had found nothing. This was very frustrating. He almost jumped out of his chair when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's just me. You should get some rest, I'll take over."

"No, it's okay."

"Ghost, you look like a fucking zombie. Go get some rest." He ordered.

They glared at each other for a few minutes, then Soap realized something.

"Ghost, it wasn't your fault." He sighed.

His glance shifted to the floor, unable to meet his eyes.

"Yes it was."

"How?"

"He said he had a bad feeling and I told him it was just nerves."

"That's because it probably was."

"Come on, Soap. We all know he's not usually nervous before ops."

Soap was quiet. There wasn't anything else to say.

"I never should have split up with him."

Soap sighed. They could have this conversation later, but right now he needed to pull it together. Sitting around feeling guilty wasn't going to help them get Roach back.

"Go get some rest. Now." He said sternly.

"Fine."

Ghost got up and left the room, heading for the barracks. Soap sat down and looked over what they had, which was basically a big stinking pile of nothing. Wait... They hadn't checked West Virginia yet, had they? He went to the desk in the corner of the room and pulled a map out of one of the drawers. They had marked all the places they had already checked. He was right. They hadn't checked West Virginia. "Looks like we're going on another recon mission tomorrow," he thought.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! I know I skipped four days... but I didn't really know what to do with them...so I skipped them! But hey, you people need to REVIEW. SERIOUSLY! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Whoo! Hi guys! IT'S FINALLY FRIDAY. OMG! You have no idea how boring my school is! Ewww! It's awful! Yay, more angst is to come! :D**

* * *

Roach had just gotten thrown back in his cell, but not before they finished beating the shit out of him. He really wished his team would hurry up and find him. He hadn't told them anything, of course, but he hated being stuck here. At this point, he would rather be in hell. This place was awful. He couldn't stand his father. He hated every single cell in his body and the worst part was, he couldn't do anything to him. The man deserved to be thrown into hell and he would do it without the slightest bit of hesitation. Especially after what he did...

 _"Get back here you useless little shit!" His father screamed at him as he jumped the fence._

 _He heard glass break as he assumed his father threw a beer bottle at him. He thought it had missed but when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, he knew he was wrong. He felt blood running down his face but didn't care. He didn't care about anything at the moment- except for getting away._

 _He ran from the house and didn't stop until his feet refused to move. Blood poured from the wound on his shoulder and his nose. His father had just finished beating the crap out of him for no reason. It seemed like that was his hobby. He felt bad for leaving his younger brother back there with him, but he needed a few minutes alone. He ran down an alley and stopped, panting and covered in sweat. He sat down and felt around his shoulder. He could feel a few shards of glass that were stuck in it. He sighed and yanked the largest one out before he could change his mind. Pain immediately flared up in his shoulder and he screamed as more blood ran down his arm._

 _After about ten minutes, he had gotten all of the glass out of his shoulder. It throbbed painfully as he put more pressure on it in an attempt to stop the bleeding. He had a terrible headache from when his father had punched him. Nothing was broken, but he could already feel the bruises starting to form. He leaned back against the wall and thought about everything._

 _His brother's name was Charlie. He loved his brother more than anyone else in the world. Charlie was 11 years old and he was 15. They did everything together and it was rare to see one without the other close by._ _They only had each other ever since their mother died, that's why they were so close. Her name was Alyss and she was very nice. But she had died of brain cancer and that was when their father started drinking. He was angry that his wife had died and there was no one else to take his anger out on besides them, so that's what he did._

 _His nose had finally stopped bleeding and he decided to head home, although he dreaded the thought of it. His father would be pissed because he left. He was covered in blood, but couldn't think of a time when he wasn't, so he just ignored it. He got up and started walking home. He knew this place like the back of his hand, so it was nearly impossible for him to get lost. He breathed in the cold winter air and sighed, wishing he didn't have to go back. But he had to stay with his brother to keep him safe. He was the last thing he had left and if he lost him, then he wouldn't know what the point of life was anymore._

 _He could see his house but something was off... He couldn't think of what it was though... Then he realized what it was. It was completely quiet. It wasn't ever quiet. Not ever. He ran back to the house and jumped over the fence, into the yard. He burst through the door and froze when he saw it._

 _Charlie was laying in the middle of a pool of blood with a knife in his chest. He ran to him and fell to his knees. Tears flooded down his face as his world fell apart right in front of him. He felt for a pulse, desperately hoping to find one, but he didn't. His brother was gone... and it was all his fault! If he hadn't left then he would still be here! He screamed, now hating himself for leaving. Why had he left?! He should've stayed... He pulled his brother into his lap, hugged him, and cried._

 _He didn't know how long he had been sitting there crying, but after a while, he got up. He looked around and noticed for the first time that his father wasn't here. Something on the table caught his eye and he walked over to it. It was a note._

 _It read:_

 _"I hope you liked your welcome home present."_

 _There was a picture right beside it. It was Charlie and John. Charlie was crying because he had just been stabbed in the chest and John was smiling._

* * *

 **A/N: So now you know about Roach's past! Angsty, isn't it? Oh, and John called the cops before he left and when they got there, they saw Roach- who was still covered in blood and being sad, and they saw Charlie- who was dead with the knife still in his chest. Any guesses on who the cops thought murdered Charlie? You're right. Roach is wanted in several states for 'murdering' his younger brother. Isn't his life wonderful? Lol, and I'm sorry this chapter is so short- it was mostly just a filler, but I wanted you to know about his past! Plz review! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi! I'm so sad! No one reviewed on the last chapter! :( Well, whatever! It was short anyways, but as always, there shall be MORE ANGST! Yay! :D**

Soap sat with Price and the rest of the team in the chopper as they flew over Ohio. They were going on a recon mission in West Virginia. He thought idly about the other recon ops they had been on in the past week. This one didn't feel the same... it was almost like they were _actually_ going to find something. He didn't get his hopes up, though. They had no clue where they had taken Roach, so it was hard to find any leads on his current location. Not to mention they didn't really know what they were up against. None of them had seen the enemy. It could've been Makarov's supplier's men, but somehow he doubted it. Supposedly they hadn't known they were coming, so how could they have waited until they got there, known who was clearing what building, and captured Roach all in one attempt? That was pretty much impossible.

He sighed and leaned back in his seat, wishing they had a good lead. It had already been a week. They needed to get Roach back before he was killed. He was confident that Roach wouldn't give any information on the Task Force, but he never liked to see any of his men getting hurt. He felt that they were all his responsibility and it was his job to keep them safe and look after them.

* * *

1 Hour Later...

They silently jogged through the forest at a steady pace. Since they were only scouting out the area, they figured there was no point going in guns blazing. The plan was to just go in, look for any signs that showed that Roach was being held there, and if they found none, leave. If they discovered that Roach was there... Well, they would cross that bridge when they got to it.

They continued on until they reached a good vantage point. It was high above the rest of the land, so it was a pretty good spot. They hadn't seen any signs that anyone had been here yet, but they had a relatively large area to cover so this could take a while. They set up their scopes and went prone. They sat there for several minutes, scanning the area. That's when Price saw it.

"There's a watch tower at two o'clock. They've hidden it well though, so look at it closely."

They all looked in that direction and at first they didn't see anything. Then something moved and the sunlight reflected off it. It was the guard's scope on his gun.

"How did you ever notice that?" Toad asked, clearly shocked that he had seen something so hard to find.

"I've had a lot of practice." Price smirked.

"Should we get closer?" Archer asked curiously.

"Yeah, let's go. We need to see what we're up against."

They put their gear away and headed in that direction. It was very cold in West Virginia at this time of the year. The snow fell from the sky like rain, coating the ground in white. Everything was bright white in color and dark objects stood out a lot more than anything else.

After about 45 minutes, they made it to another vantage point that was a lot closer to the base. Ghost pulled his binoculars out of his bag and looked at the base. There were patrols everywhere. At least twenty were patrolling outside, walking back and forth in front of the exits and making sure no one unauthorized got in or out.

"I count 24." MacTavish said as he finished counting the guards.

"How many do you think are inside?" Toad asked.

"Do I look like I have X-ray vision to you?"

"No, but can't you make a guess?" He whined.

"Nope."

Toad glared at him and continued to look for Roach. He looked in through the large windows and didn't see anything unusual. He was about to move on when someone went by. He couldn't believe what he saw. He saw Roach, who was tied to a table that rolled and someone was pushing him down the hallway. He looked awful. Toad could see the blood that covered his chest and how pale he was. That wasn't a good sign... He wondered where they were going. Probably nowhere good...

"I've got a visual on Roach. Second floor third window to the left."

They all looked over and could see him for about a second before they went behind the wall.

"Oh damn."

"He looks awful."

"Why are they moving him?"

"Ummm... probably not for anything good."

"We need to get him out of there."

"How the fuck are we going to do that? There's so many guards everywhere."

"Stealth isn't an option, there's too many. We'll just have to fight our way in." Price said, still studying the building.

* * *

Roach struggled against his bonds but only ended up cutting his wrists and ankles more. They had tied him down with barbed wire so the more he struggled, the more blood he lost. He couldn't afford to lose much blood because if he did he would probably pass out. His broken arm still throbbed painfully. It hurt to breathe and he was sure he had broken at least a couple ribs. He knew the cut on his face was infected and it got worse everyday. He had cuts and bruises all over, some of them worse than others. He yanked at his restraints again and hissed as more blood ran down his arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You're just hurting yourself for no reason, they're not gonna break." The person who was pushing him teased.

He glared up at him, but couldn't say anything because he was gagged. He was so tired of being stuck here. His team was dead because of him so he knew no one was going to come get him. He didn't believe it at first, but they left him in there and forced him to look at that horrible picture for days. They beat the shit out of him until he believed that his team was dead. They made him say it too. But even though they were dead, he still refused to give any information on them. Some small part of him still thought they were alive and he held onto that. He had only been here a week, but he wanted to leave more than anything.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he realized they had stopped. He looked up just in time to see the person leave the room. Well, that was just great. He glanced around the room and didn't recognize it. But he had been in so many different rooms over the past week that he might've been in here and forgotten. The room was white and looked almost like a hospital. On the table there was a knife. It wasn't a normal knife, though. It almost looked like a sickle but with more of a curve. Towards the hilt it was straight and looked like a regular knife. He had a really bad feeling about this...

He heard the door open and close, but couldn't see who it was. Then his father walked into his field of vision. He mentally sighed in frustration. When was this bastard going to leave him alone?

"Hello Gary. I trust you've enjoyed your stay with us?"

When he didn't respond he walked over to the table and smiled down at him.

"That's good. Because you won't be staying with us much longer."

Wait...What? This was just confusing. John picked up the strange knife and brought it over to him.

"Do you know what this is?"

 _It's a knife, dumbass._ He thought angrily. This was going nowhere fast.

"This isn't any normal knife. Here, I'll show you how to use it."

Without any warning he stabbed the knife into his right leg. He screamed, but it was muffled by the gag. He gasped for air and his ribs felt like they were on fire.

 _I hope this works,_ John thought. The knife was a new torture weapon he had just gotten. On the end towards the hilt it looked like a regular knife, but it was curved. It was a trick. What you do is ask your prisoner a question and if they don't answer it, you put the knife in an inch. Then you ask them again and if they don't answer, put it in another inch. Basically you keep doing that and usually they'll answer eventually. But you don't just stab them with it. You curve it in so when or if someone tries to help them by taking the knife out, they'll really just be causing more damage. That's why the end looks like a normal knife, so anyone who doesn't know about the curved end will think it is a regular knife and try to take it out, thus causing more damage.

He felt blood gush from the wound and onto table. Searing pain ran through his leg, it was agonizing. John went over to him and took the gag out.

"Are you going to answer my questions now?"

"N-no."

The knife went in another inch. He screamed as more blood poured from the wound. His vision was starting to blur. Tears ran down his cheeks. He didn't think it possible, but the pain got worse every time he moved.

"I can do this all day. Now tell me where your base is."

He shook his head. He didn't care if his team was dead, he wouldn't ever betray them. If they died because of him, then this is what he deserved.

John stuck the knife in another inch. He yelped as his vision got more blurry than before. The darkness at the edge of his vision was closing in. He was almost unconscious when he was sharply slapped across the face.

"Nope. You aren't going anywhere."

His face stung. His head pounded annoyingly and wouldn't stop. He vaguely heard the sound of alarms going off before he fell into the dark abyss of unconsciousness.

John looked around as the loud alarms blared. Someone had gotten into the base.

"Damn it." He hissed.

He left the room, telling his men to prepare the helicopter for departure as he went.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Woohooo! OMG last chapter was SOOO angsty! More angst is coming though, and if I'm right some new people might show up soon… *hint* *hint***

* * *

Price led the way into the base with MacTavish and Ghost on his flank. Archer and Toad were providing sniper support up on the ridge. They had almost brought Archer with them because he had the most medical experience, but decided he could look at Roach on the chopper.

The alarms were so loud it set their ears ringing, but they kept going, shooting anything that moved. Getting in was the easy part. Trying to find Roach with hostiles literally everywhere was a whole different story. They were just glad it wasn't a very big building. It had 2 floors, both of which weren't very big.

Ghost stopped for a minute. Was that helicopter rotors…?

"Ghost, move your arse." MacTavish said as he and Price continued down the hall.

"Sorry, sir." He apologized, jogging to keep up with them.

It took them forever to clear the first floor. They had to fight their way into every room, search it, then do the same with the rest of the rooms.

Archer watched as they searched the last room on the first floor. He sighed in disappointment when they realized Roach wasn't in there. Looking back in his scope, he thought he saw a flicker of movement. He watched that area for several seconds, then seeing nothing, moved on. He watched as the team started for the door, Ghost being last. MacTavish and Price left the room right before someone tackled Ghost.

He tried to take aim, but they were moving too fast and he was worried that he would accidentally hit Ghost. They stopped moving as the man lunged at Ghost and pinned him to the floor. The man tried to stab him and he was just barely keeping the knife from stabbing him in the face. He took aim and fired, just as Price and MacTavish ran into the room.

He knew the shot was good as soon as he pulled the trigger. Hearing a shot fired, the man looked up just in time to get a bullet to the face. Blood splattered all over Ghost. He shoved the dead man off and looked up to see MacTavish holding his hand out. He took it and let him help him up.

"Thanks, mate."

"No problem. Sorry we were late for the party." He smiled, glad that his Lieutenant was okay.

"You alright, Ghost?" Archer asked over the comms.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for saving my arse."

"If I wasn't around to save it, then you would've been dead years ago."

"Would you two stop flirting so we can go find Roach?" Price asked, clearly annoyed.

They laughed and looked around until they found the stairs. They reached the second floor, prepared for an attack, but were surprised to find it completely empty.

"At least we know why it was so hard to get to the second floor now. They must've sent everyone down to the first floor to keep us from getting here, which means Roach is definitely here."

"Or it was a distraction so they could grab him and run off."

"Well aren't you a little ray of sunshine. We should start calling you Mr. Positive from now on."

Price tried to tune them out as he thought he heard something. He waited a few moments... Then... there it was again! It almost sounded like someone was crying.

"Shut up!" He said, getting their attention.

They both looked at him and saw the intense concentration on his face.

"Price, what's-"

"Shhh! Listen."

They both were silent. Then they heard it too. They ran down the hall, following the sound until they reached the right room. Their guns were loaded and ready should anyone happen to show up. Then they saw him. They all gasped at the sight of Roach.

* * *

Roach lay on the table, still tied to it with barbed wire. He had tried to get out of them, but it was impossible! No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get them to budge. He could no longer feel his leg, probably because he had lost too much blood and was going into shock. His breathing was labored because of his broken ribs. It hurt so bad to breathe.

He absently wondered where John had went. He flinched and yelped in surprise when he heard a loud shot ring out. He felt more blood leak onto the table. He had heard gunfire a while ago and wondered what was going on down there. He really didn't like this. He needed to get off of this damned table and away from this room! He yanked on his bonds, barely registering the pain as the barbs went deeper into his arm. He didn't just _want_ to get out of here anymore. He _needed_ to get out of here before they came back!

They wouldn't come off! He stopped as he heard footsteps... Oh no! They came back! He needed to leave! Why couldn't they just leave him alone?! He started crying. He was scared and tired and frustrated, and those people were coming back to hurt him and there was nothing he could do about it! He listened and heard running. It was close by.

He panicked and tugged at his restraints with everything he had. The footsteps came closer and closer until he could hear them pounding in his head, taunting him. Then they stopped, in the doorway. His panic increased tenfold.

"Roach!" Someone yelled.

He stopped for a minute. That sounded like Ghost... He looked up to see three people standing over him and jumped. They looked like the dead members of the Task Force. He wished it was them, but figured he had lost too much blood and was seeing things. It was probably John and his men. They came back to get him. He didn't want to go back with them though! It was awful being stuck with his father and he damn well wasn't gonna let it happen again!

"Hang on Roach, we'll get you out of here." MacTavish said as he and Price worked on cutting the barbed wire.

That didn't sound like John though... this was just confusing! One part of him said, _You are the last member of the Task Force, the rest of them are dead. This can't be them._ The other part of him said, _John was lying to you! These are your friends and they're trying to help you._ He didn't know which to believe! He yelped in surprise as there was a sharp pain in his broken arm. They had finally cut through the barbed wire and gotten the barbs out of it. Shortly after, they finished with his other arm and that one hurt worse. He whined through his teeth as they finished the third one.

"Its okay Roach, we're almost done."

They cut through the last one and looked him over. Damn, he looked bad. They eyed the knife in his leg, all wondering the same thing.

"Should we take it out now?" Ghost asked in a hushed voice.

"I don't know."

"I think we should wait and let Archer do it. Besides, if we take it out here we don't really have anything to help stop the bleeding." Price said.

"Let's go, we'll just let Archer do it."

"Alright, Soap you carry Roach. Ghost and I will cover you."

He nodded and went over to Roach. He had so many injuries that the only way to carry him without hurting him worse was bridal style. He gently slid one arm under his legs, the other supporting his back. When Roach noticed this he growled in warning. He hated it when people carried him. He always felt like they were going to drop him.

"Sorry bug, but we gotta get out of here." Soap said, picking him up.

He knew Roach hated it, but he was just gonna have to deal with it. He was surprisingly light, which worried him. They all knew he was the smallest one on the team, but he still shouldn't be this light... He automatically felt him tense up in his arms, waiting to be dropped.

"I'm not gonna drop you, ya bugger." He said with a slight chuckle.

They all thought it was funny that he didn't like to be carried. Sometimes they would pick him up and hold him in such a way that he couldn't get down just to mess with him. When they started walking he heard him wince. He knew it was moving his broken ribs, but they had to get out of here before anyone came back. They would give him something to help with the pain on the helicopter.

"Nikolai, do you copy?"

"Da, I've got Archer and Toad. I'm waiting for you at the exfil point."

"Change of plans. Roach is a lot worse off than we thought he would be. Can you meet us outside the enemy base?"

"Yes, I will be there in a minute."

"Copy that."

It took them about ten minutes to get down the stairs and out of the base because they had to go slow, but when they got out Nikolai was waiting for them. They hurried to the chopper and got in. They set Roach down on one of the cots, Archer immediately rushing over to get a look at him. They took off and headed for their base.

"Damn it." He muttered, seeing the knife in his leg.

"You need help with him?" Ghost asked, knowing what he was about to do.

"Yeah, c'mon." He said, pulling out a syringe.

He gave him some morphine and waited a few minutes. While he waited, he looked over some of his other injuries. He looked at his wrists and ankles, which were bleeding.

"What the hell did they tie him up with?"

"Barbed wire, took us forever to get it off."

"I can imagine."

They talked for a few minutes while also trying to keep Roach awake. He had almost fallen asleep like ten times already.

"Okay, get ready."

Archer looked at the knife, trying to figure out what angle it was put in at. He found the angle and looked at Ghost and MacTavish to see if they were ready. They nodded and he grabbed the handle and quickly pulled. Roach screamed and tried to shove Ghost and MacTavish off, but he was weak and they managed to hold him still. Ghost sat by his side, shushing him and wiping at the constant flow of tears that rolled down his cheeks. Despite his efforts, he couldn't get his friend to calm down.

The knife didn't come out. It had hardly even moved! Blood gushed out of the wound and Toad mopped it up with some gauze.

"What the fuck, Archer!"

"Why are you blaming me?! It should've come out!" He said in panic.

"All of you shut up!"

Everyone was silent.

"Wait a minute..." Archer said, looking at his leg.

The more he looked at it, the more he realized they shouldn't have done that. He sighed and all eyes were on him.

"What is it?"

"I can't be sure until we get back to base." He said, leaning forward to listen to Roach's breathing.

His eyes widened at what he found.

"Which base is closest to here?" He asked Price.

"Ummm... the Ghosts in Pennsylvania. Why?"

"We have to go there. Roach probably won't survive until we get back to our base and to be honest, I don't have the equipment for this."

"What is it?"

"I need to get some x-rays to be sure, but he might've punctured a lung and I don't know what's up with his leg."

Price thought about for a minute. The Ghosts did owe them for last time, and it would be nice to see their friends again. He wasn't about to let Roach die when he knew they could save him.

"Alright, I'll contact the Ghosts."

* * *

 **A/N: Woah, that took me forever. Sorry guys! I had a busy week! Ummm... Happy late Thanksgiving? ^_^**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Last chapter was sooo long! Omg by the way, the Ghosts should show up in this chapter so enjoy! :D**

* * *

Everything hurt. It was hard to breathe. Why was it so hard to breathe? He could hear people talking but didn't know what they were saying. He could hear the helicopter rotors. They were so fucking loud and that really didn't help with his headache. Damn he was tired. It felt like he hadn't slept in forever...

"Hey! C'mon Roach, you gotta stay awake."

He felt someone lightly slap his face and tried to bat their hand away, but his arms refused to move. Why wouldn't they just let him get some sleep? He felt like he'd been run over by a tank.

"I should get a look at that cut on his face." Archer sighed.

Archer? Wait... wasn't he dead? Maybe he's a zombie! (...Yeah, Roach has lost too much blood...) That would be so cool! Having a zombie for a friend would be awesome. As long as he didn't eat him... that could be an issue. He'd have to think of a way to get around that.

He felt someone touch his face, right by his cut and he flinched.

"C'mon Roach, sit still."

One hand held him still while the other cleaned around the wound. It was definitely infected. There was dirt and grime all around it and puss was in it. He had gotten lucky this time. It had just barely missed his left eye. He reached around behind him and grabbed the bottle of peroxide. Since the cut was on his face, he couldn't just dump peroxide on it, so he poured some on a cloth.

Roach hissed in discomfort when he felt Archer start to clean out the wound. It stung and he didn't like anyone messing with his face. Fresh blood dribbled from the now aggravated wound as he cleaned it. He finished cleaning it out and looked through the first aid kit for a needle and thread. The cut was pretty deep and needed stitches.

"ETA 15 minutes," Nikolai informed them.

Damn it. They were gonna have to hurry. He found the needle and thread and put the thread through the eye of the needle. Leaning over Roach, he put one arm across his chest to keep him still and started stitching with the other. Roach yelped and flinched as the needle went through his skin. He hated stitches.

"Woah, easy, bug. It's okay." Ghost said, trying to calm him down some.

They all knew how much he hated stitches and they felt bad for the kid, but he needed to get better and from the looks of it, he was going to be getting a lot of stitches. The cut on his face wouldn't need many, it was more deep than long, so maybe about ten or twelve. But he couldn't say the same for some of his other injuries...

The needle went through again and he wanted to beg them to stop. He hated this and just wanted it to stop. He squirmed uncomfortably as it went through for the third time and Ghost tightened his hold on his wrists, but was mindful of his broken arm, which they had decided to fix when they got there. It went through again and he was done. He jerked back away from Archer's hand and tried to get away from Ghost, but wasn't strong enough.

"Damn it, Roach!" Archer yelled.

"Leave m-me be!" He said, still trying to get Ghost to let him go.

Archer reached over and grabbed him. He growled in response and jerked back again, but couldn't get away from him this time. He felt a pair of hands grab his legs and pin them to the cot. He tensed up, not liking being unable to move. He really didn't like this. He felt so helpless and a bit naked without any of his weapons and the fact that he couldn't move didn't really help with that. He struggled against them for a few minutes but eventually gave up, opting to lay there and cry instead, hoping one if them would take pity on him and stop.

"You know, if you relaxed this would probably hurt less." Archer sighed as he finished the fifth stitch.

He whimpered as it went through again. Why wouldn't they just let him die? Someone accidentally touched his ribs and he jumped and yelped, almost messing Archer up.

"Shhh, easy, we're almost done."

It only took a couple minutes for him to finish up. They still had a few minutes until they got to the Ghosts' base, so he cleaned up his supplies while also keeping an eye on Roach.

"Has he met the Ghosts yet?" Toad asked.

"No, I don't think so. I wonder what he'll think of them." Price grinned.

"I think he'll like Logan. They're about the same age."

They watched as the Ghosts' base went past them and they slowly started to descend. They could see the Ghosts standing at a small distance away from the helipad, waiting to greet them. When they landed, Archer and Toad immediately grabbed Roach and moved him onto a stretcher, then headed towards the base. They needed to get him stabilized, and fast. The Ghosts watched as they headed for the base and let them go. They saw how bad the poor kid looked and knew they needed to get him stabilized. They went to go see the rest of the Task Force.

* * *

Archer and Toad ran into the base and went straight for the infirmary. Everyone in the Task Force knew this base like the back of their hands, except for Roach, he hadn't been here before. As soon as they got to the infirmary, other nurses and doctors rushed over to help. They set him down on one of the empty hospital beds and started working on him. First, they inserted an IV into his arm. Then they set his broken arm and put it in a cast. They started working on cleaning some of his many wounds and they wrapped his broken ribs. They also doped him up on pain meds.

"Why haven't you taken the knife out yet?" One of the doctors asked.

"We tried, I think it's curved at the end and we didn't have the supplies to dig it out on the helicopter."

"Oh, well how do you plan on getting it out?"

"What do you suggest?"

"Honestly, I think the best way to do it would be to give him anesthesia, dig it out, and stitch it up."

"Can we give him anesthesia while he's unstable, though?"

"We'll have to. We can't wait until he's stable to get that out, if we do he'll most likely die before we even get it out."

Archer hesitated for a moment then said, "Alright, let's do it."

"I'll go get the anesthesia."

When he left, Archer started tending to some of his other wounds. He cleaned and bandaged the wounds around his wrists and ankles, and he did the same with several other cuts and scrapes. By the time he was done with that, the other doctor was back and already had the anesthesia ready. He knew Roach wasn't gonna like this, but they had to get that knife out and this was the best way to do it.

Roach sat there on the bed, almost asleep, when someone put something over his mouth and nose. His eyes flew open and he quit breathing, not wanting to breathe in whatever that stuff was. He saw Archer sitting beside him on the bed, holding the mask in place. He tried to move, but couldn't, he was too tired.

"It's okay Roach, just breathe."

He couldn't hold his breath any longer. Damn it. He gave up and inhaled the anesthesia. Great. Now he was even more tired then before.

"That's it, relax."

He knew this never ended well and wondered what they were going to do to him. Maybe zombie Archer was going to eat his brain. Wow. Of all the ways to die, he never though it would be like this. Darkness started creeping up on him from the edges of his vision. He felt himself relax against his will as the darkness took over.

* * *

"What the bloody hell is taking so long?"

"I don't know."

They had been waiting outside of the surgery room for over an hour and apparently they still weren't done. Merrick had told them to put their stuff away and get some food, but none of them were hungry. They were too worried about Roach. They'd seen him with some pretty bad injuries before, but this one took the cake. He wondered who did this and why. He knew it was probably for information on the 141 but there could be other reasons too, you never know. Soap could practically feel the nervousness coming off the other members in waves. It was like that when one of their own got hurt, though. They were a tight knit group.

A few minutes later, several nurses rushed out of the room, taking an unconscious Roach with them to the infirmary. The knife was gone. After a few moments, Archer and a doctor came out. Archer shook his hand and thanked him, then went over to them and sat down.

"How did it go?" Price asked.

Archer sighed and ran a hand through his hair, trying to gather his scrambled thoughts before answering.

"We got the knife out and Roach is stable. I'm just a bit worried that he won't wake up."

The others exchanged a concerned glance and looked back at Archer.

"Why?"

"We put him under while he was still unstable which increased the possibility that he might not wake up. I'm probably just being paranoid, though."

"He'll be fine, he always is." Price reassured, trying to sound confident even though he felt far from it.

"So what was up with that knife, anyways?" MacTavish asked.

They were all really curious about that. Archer got up and went back into the surgery room. Several moments later he came back out, holding something. He sat back down and held it up for them to see. They gasped, not even wanting to think about how the got the knife in, much less out.

"Now do you see why it took us so long?"

"What the fuck is that?" Toad asked, dumbfounded.

"I think it's some kind of torture weapon, but I've never seen anything like it."

"Let me see." Ghost said, holding a hand out.

He handed it to Ghost and he turned it over in his hands.

"Damn, that must not have felt good..."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Archer remembered something and got their attention.

"Hey, I also gave him a new tracker. Since his other one is... gone."

"Oh that's good, at least we don't have to worry about doing that later."

"Ummm... remember how he was having nightmares for a while?"

"...Yeah, why?"

"Well, that happened for like two weeks and then he got captured for like a week and I'm sure he hasn't gotten much sleep in that time, so I was wondering if-"

"If you could sedate him for like a week and get him some rest?"

Archer nodded.

"I guess you could, but when he wakes up and knocks you on your arse, I'm not gonna blame him." MacTavish laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: Whoo! I'm sure you guys have noticed I've been updating a lot more often now, but I'm sorry to say that's only because I'm on Thanksgiving break. Yea, it's sad. I have to go back to school tomorrow, so that's gonna suck. But it will suck ALOT less if you review! *hint* *hint***


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Ewww! School was really boring and sucky-ish today. *sighs* Life is hard. Oh, and remember how I told you that Roach hates being carried/ picked up? Well, I figured since Roach is sleeping and the 141 is just hanging around the Ghosts base and that's boring, I'm gonna do a time skip thingy, BUT I'm gonna fill it in with some background stuffs! That makes it less bad, right? This one will explain why Roach hates being carried...**

 **Info**

 **·Roach (Gary) is about 11**

 **·His little brother (Charlie) is at school, so he's not in this one.**

 **·Alyss is Gary and Charlie's mother**

* * *

Gary sat on the swing, slowly moving back and forth. Back and forth, back and forth. He had skipped school today so be could go visit his mom in the hospital. She had been in the hospital for almost four months because she had brain cancer and was receiving chemotherapy. He loved visiting his mother. She was the nicest person ever.

 _Dad should be here in a few minutes to pick me up,_ he thought.

He waited for a few minutes, then he saw John and ran to him.

"Hey kid, how you doin?" John said with a smile.

He messed up Gary's hair and Gary made a face before fixing it.

"Good! Hey dad, can we get ice cream?" Gary asked, jumping up and down with excitement.

"No, we gotta go visit your mom, remember?"

"I know, but mom wants ice cream! Can we _please_ go?" He asked, making puppy dog eyes.

John looked at him for a minute before giving in.

"Alright fine, but we gotta hurry!"

They walked down the street to the ice cream shop and got ice cream. Gary got chocolate (as always) and John didn't get anything, he didn't really like sweet things. Gary happily licked at his ice cream while they walked to the hospital. They lived in the part of town where most places were within walking distance, so most of the time they walked. They walked in silence, Gary too busy eating his ice cream to talk, and John not much of a talker.

They rounded the corner and could see the hospital. It was huge. It was eight stories tall and had alot of space. Gary had been there more times than he could count, but it never ceased to amaze him how tall the building was. He always felt short when he got near it. They entered the building and got on the elevator. His mom's room was all the way up on the sixth floor. Room 418.

"Daaad." Gary said as he finished his ice cream.

"What is it?"

"I'm tired... can you carry me?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Nope."

"...Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

"Still no."

"PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLE-"

"Okay, okay, okay, fine. C'mere."

Gary ran to John and jumped into his arms.

"Wee!"

They were both laughing and having fun. They reached Alyss's room and John knocked on the door. There was no reply.

"Alyss?"

Silence.

"Honey, are you in there?"

Silence.

"Alyss please answer me."

Silence.

John reached out and hesitantly opened the door. The sight before him caused his arms to give out and Gary fell to the floor with a dull _thud._ Alyss was still sitting in bed, the heart monitor showed a flat line.

 _~Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep~._

Alyss's face was as white as the sheets on the bed and she laid unnaturally still. Gary couldn't believe she was dead. He _wouldn't._ She couldn't be dead. How could that even happen? He felt like he was being ripped apart piece by piece as his whole world came crashing down right in front of him. He desperately wanted to look away from the heartbreaking scene before him, but he couldn't. Even if he had, he was sure the image of his dead mother would've stayed in his mind. Little did he know that this image _would_ stay in his mind and haunt him for years to come. Gary sat on the floor, too shocked and devastated to move. He didn't even notice as the tears rolled steadily down his cheeks.

His mother was dead.

What would he do now? What was he supposed to tell Charlie? Alyss hadn't even been dead for an hour yet and he already felt a huge empty space in his heart where his beloved mother was supposed to be. He already missed her terribly. She was right in front of him, but not at the same time. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that she was _gone._ And that she wouldn't be coming back. No more warm hugs before bed and sweet 'I love yous' before school in the morning. No more soft voice singing him back to sleep after a nightmare. No more playful teasing when he made a silly mistake. No more gentle, loving kisses before he fell asleep each night.

No more mom.

* * *

 **A/N: I just want to explain something in case anyone is confused now. John was a good father before Alyss died, after that he got depressed and angry and upset and then he started drinking. He got addicted to alcohol and started abusing Gary because he was angry about Alyss's death and there was no one else to blame but Gary. Gary never let him hurt Charlie, but they both hated John. And if it wasn't clear enough already, Roach hates being carried because it reminds him of the day his mother died and thus marks the day that from then on, his life sucked. Also it's because he can see Alyss dead in the hospital bed again when someone picks him up. Basically it just brings back terrible memories. Better? REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: OKAY I'M DONE. SCREW FILLERS, WERE MOVIN ON! I AM SKIPPING TO WHERE ROACH WAKES UP. THIS IS ABOUT A WEEK LATER (LIKE 4 DAYS) CAUSE 4 DAYS IS TOTALLY A WEEK. YEAH. THIS IS SET IN THE AFTERNOON. BY THE WAY, THE STUFF THAT'S IN ITALICS IS WHAT THEY'RE THINKING. YOU CAN NOW READ MINDS!**

* * *

The past week had been really boring and uneventful. There was nothing to do without Roach around. He was sleeping because Archer had been giving him sedatives to get him some rest. It was nice getting to catch up with the Ghosts, though. They hadn't seen them in a while. Not since Elias died. They seemed to be okay though. They enjoyed hanging out and there was plenty of stuff to do at their base. Merrick said they could stay for as long as they needed to. They were currently sitting in the rec room, some of them reading, others laughing and joking around. Ghost, Soap, and Archer were sitting on the couch, talking about Roach.

"When are you gonna stop giving him sedatives?"

"I was thinking about today, but it's not like he's gonna be able to walk yet. I would give him crutches, but he wouldn't be able to use them anyways, not with that arm of his."

"That's true. Well, if he wants to go anywhere I guess we'll just have to carry him." Ghost smiled.

They all laughed at the thought of it, knowing Roach would be pissed. He always hated it when he was injured, especially when he couldn't walk.

"He'll be able to walk again though, won't he?" Ghost asked.

"That depends on him. If he lets it heal, then yes. But if he tries to walk on it too soon and tears the stitches, I'm not sure."

"Damn. He's gonna be mad."

"He's _always_ mad when he gets hurt." Toad chimed in.

Archer looked at his watch. It was time for him to check on Roach. He had stopped giving him sedatives this morning, so he should be waking up soon. He sighed and got up.

"I'm gonna go check on Roach."

"Okay, we'll come too." Price said.

He nodded and they got up and walked with him to the infirmary. Roach was still asleep.

 _I guess he'll wake up later,_ He thought.

Price, Soap, and Archer sat down in the chairs that were sitting by his bed.

Archer started checking his vitals. After that, he put a hand on his forehead to see if he still had a fever. He sighed when he felt the heat radiating off of him. He had gotten the fever yesterday, while he was still fighting off the infection. He had already given him some ibuprofen an hour ago, so he couldn't give him any more right now. At least the fever was lower than earlier, though. He felt his pulse and looked over his injuries. It took him a good five minutes to look over all of Roach's cuts and scrapes. The worst was probably his back, which had dozens of deep cuts. It looked like he had been whipped. He carefully re-wrapped his ribs. He took the bandages off of his leg and checked the stitches. They were fine and there were no signs of infection. He wrapped his leg with clean bandages and moved up to get a look at the stitches on his face. Most of the infection was gone and the stitches should come out in a few days. The infection still wasn't completely gone though, so he turned around to look for antibiotics and a syringe.

He found them and took some antibiotics from the vial. He rubbed a bit of alcohol on a small area of Roach's arm and gave him the shot. Suddenly he heard a gasp and before he had time to react, something hard came in contact with his nose. He fell down and felt blood run down his face. He heard the syringe shatter right after he dropped it.

* * *

Without warning, the fog of sleep disappeared. He could feel someone rubbing something on his arm, a burning sensation coming shortly after. Wait, what the fuck was that?! His eyes shot open and he gasped when he saw someone standing right by his arm, holding a syringe. He reacted automatically, without thinking. His hand flew up and hit the man right in the nose. He saw blood flowing freely from the man's nose before someone rushed over to help, blocking his view.

His eyes shot around the room. He could hear people talking to him, but didn't process the words.

 _Where the fuck are we?_

He sat up a little bit and suddenly his ribs were on fire. He groaned in pain, and because he was a stubborn little arse, he tried to sit up more. Hands grabbed at him and forced him to lay back down. He growled and shoved back at the hands with his left hand. For some reason he couldn't move his right hand...

"Roach, calm down." Ghost said.

He heard some more garbled speech coming from his left, but there was a loud pounding in his ears that refused to let him hear what they were saying.

 _Who the hell are you? Get the fuck away from me!_ He thought as more hands grabbed at him.

He fought harder, but eventually the hands got him pinned him to the bed. He tried to get away from them, but they were too strong. A few moments later, he felt another pinch in his arm. The fog was back. It circled him for a moment, teasing him. Then it swallowed him. And the world went dark.

* * *

The next morning...

The darkness disappeared again, but this time he couldn't sense anyone in the room. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Ugh. It looked like a hospital. He wondered where he was. He tried to move but discovered that he couldn't.

 _What the fuck...?_

He looked down at his hands to see that his right arm was in a cast and his left hand was handcuffed to the bed. Also, an IV was in his left arm.

 _Oh shit._

He could deal with the handcuffs in a minute, first he needed to get that IV out. His right arm hurt like hell, but he moved slow. After a minute or so, he could reach the IV. It stung as he pulled it out, but he hated needles so he was just relieved to have it out.

Now that that was taken care of, he needed to deal with those handcuffs. He looked around for anything he could pick them with that was within reach. There was nothing.

 _Well, isn't that wonderful._

At least he had a bobby pin, though. He always kept a couple hidden in his hair, that's why he didn't cut it short. But now the problem would be getting to them... huh... he never really thought this through. He shook his head, trying to get one to come loose. The room spun like a top and his head hurt like hell, but he kept trying. He didn't know where the fuck he was and he sure wasn't gonna stick around to find out. After several minutes, one came loose and fell by his hand.

He grabbed it and slowly started to pick the lock. The stupid cast was in the way. It went all the way from his elbow to his wrist and was annoying the hell out of him. He kept working on the lock. He almost had it when he heard footsteps coming from down the hall.

 _Damn it._

He worked faster. The lock clicked open at the same time as Archer, Ghost, Price, and MacTavish walked in. He froze.

 _What? I thought they were dead. If they're here, then where the fuck are we?_

"HEY! You weren't supposed to get out of those!" Archer said, striding over to him.

He yanked the bobby pin from his hand and locked the handcuffs again. He looked at his other arm and saw that the IV wasn't there anymore.

"Dammit, Roach." He said as he turned around and grabbed the needle.

He reinserted the IV in his arm and shot him a glare.

"Where did you get this," He asked, holding the bobby pin up. "You don't even have anything with you!"

 _Am I dreaming?_ He wondered.

This couldn't be real. They were dead...

 _Or your father was lying._ Part of him said.

But what about the pictures?

 _Your father was lying, dumbass._

...Okay then.

"Roach?" Ghost asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

He flinched, just noticing that they were still here.

"What?"

"You okay?"

He thought about it for a second.

"That depends on what kind of answer you want."

"How about an honest one."

"I feel like shit."

"...Huh... I wasn't expecting you to actually give me an honest answer. You never do that."

"I'm too lazy to make up a convincing story right now." He sighed, staring up at the ceiling.

He looked over at them.

"Where the fuck are we?"

"Why did it take you like five minutes to ask that question?" MacTavish asked.

"Just answer the damn question."

"Fine, jerk. We're in the Ghosts' base."

He didn't know what to think of that.

"Who are the Ghosts?"

"Another unit, a.k.a Task Force STALKER. You'll get to meet them later." Price said.

He thought this over. Well, at least he would finally get to meet the Ghosts. He looked at Archer and just noticed the bruise on his face, by his nose.

"Woah... What happened to you, Archer?"

They all started laughing.

When he finished laughing, Archer said, "You are what happened to me."

He was confused for a minute, but then things started coming back to him. Small flashes of what happened yesterday.

"I hit you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. That's why you're handcuffed to the bed."

"You probably deserved to be hit anyways." He smirked.

"Hey! No I didn't!"

"Yeah you did. And I wouldn't still be handcuffed to the bed if you guys hadn't come in when you did."

"That's true. Where the hell did you get the bobby pin?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Oh, come on. Tell me."

"Not in a million years."

"What if I said please?"

"Still no."

"What if I... let you out of the handcuffs?"

He laughed at that.

"There is no 'letting' me out of handcuffs. The one and only reason I still have these on is because if I took them off, one of you would just put them back on, so there's really no point in doing that."

"If you're so smart, then get them off." Toad said, walking in.

"Oh, hi Toad."

"Hey. But seriously though, I wanna see if you can get them off."

"Gimme the bobby pin."

Archer walked over and handed it to him. He reached over and picked the lock. It only took him about forty-five seconds. The lock clicked and he slid his hand out of them. They all looked at him, shocked that he could get out of them at all, let alone that quickly.

"That was awesome." Toad said.

"No, that sucked. Stupid cast is in the way." He said, glaring at his arm.

"How fast can you usually do it?"

"In about twenty seconds."

"How the hell do you do it so quickly?"

"I got alot of practice." He grinned, remembering his teen years (although, technically he still is a teen. He's 19).

"Is that the subtle way of saying you've been in jail alot?"

"Actually I've only been in jail once, but I do have a criminal record."

"What for?"

"Mostly for TP-ing people's houses and blowing up mail boxes."

"Where were your parents while you were doing all that?"

"They always worked late." He lied easily.

"If you did all that, then how did you not go to jail?"

"Most of the time they couldn't catch me. The only reason they did once was because they had a taser." He said, shuddering at the thought of it. He hated tasers.

"Damn. You really are a trouble maker, aren't you?"

"Yup."

Suddenly a thought popped up in his mind. Was his father dead? Did they kill him or was he still out there somewhere?

"Hey, did you kill everyone in the base when you came and got me?" He asked, trying to sound casual.

"Uh, yeah. Why do you ask?" Price said.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes, Roach they're all dead. I promise."

He nodded, but he had a feeling John was still alive. He couldn't explain why, but he just did.

* * *

 **A/N: REVIEW. RIGHT. NOW.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys! Sooo, who thinks Roach should have nightmares and flashbacks? *Everyone raises their hands* Okay! Roach is gonna have nightmares and flashbacks! Yay! This is gonna be fun.**

* * *

Roach slept peacefully in the infirmary, until the nightmares came...

 _"It was all your fault!" John yelled._

 _Gary just sat there crying, not knowing what else to do. John kept blaming him for Alyss's death. He had tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault but that just made him angrier. John started drinking on the same day Alyss died. He was always angry._

 _"What the hell is wrong with you?! You killed your mother!"_

 _"No I didn't!" He yelled back, only to have a beer bottle thrown at him._

 _It shattered on the wall beside him and he felt several shards of glass dig into his leg. He fell down and John kicked him in the ribs before continuing to yell at him._

 _"You are a horrible kid!"_

 _He cried harder, knowing there was nothing else he could do. John yelled and screamed at him for nearly another hour before passing out on the couch. He slowly got up and winced as it hurt his leg. He went to the bathroom and found some tweezers. He took a deep breath. Then with shaking hands, he started pulling the glass pieces out._

 _It took him about fifty minutes to get every single piece of glass out, clean all the cuts, and stitch up the ones that needed it._

 _He hated his life._

He woke up and sat there for a while, crying but keeping himself quiet so no one would come in and check on him. The last thing he needed was them knowing that he still had nightmares and asking a whole bunch of questions. He didn't get any sleep for the rest of the night...

The next morning...

"Good morning, Roach." Ghost said as he walked in.

"Morning." He said, trying to hide a yawn.

Ghost stopped and looked at him. There were dark circles under his eyes. And he was very unsuccessful at hiding that yawn.

 _Damn it. He probably didn't get any sleep last night._

"Did you sleep well?" He asked, closely watching him to try and see if he was going to lie.

"Yeah, where's everyone else?" He asked, changing the subject.

 _Yeah, my ass. He really didn't get any sleep._

"They're either hanging out with the Ghosts or eating breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, you need to eat." He said, heading for the door.

"Wait, Ghost!"

He looked back at him over his shoulder.

"What?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Yes you are and you're gonna eat." He said, leaving the room and ending the conversation.

Ghost sighed as he walked through the halls that lead to the cafeteria. They tried to get Roach to eat something yesterday, but he wouldn't. Today he was determined to get him to eat something. Deep in thought as he was, he almost walked right into Hesh and Logan. They were walking around with Riley.

"Oh, hey Ghost. What are you up to?"

"I was just getting Roach something to eat, but he probably won't eat anything, though."

"Is he doing any better?" Hesh asked.

"He hasn't torn any stitches yet, usually by now he would have. He didn't get any sleep last night though."

"Nightmares?"

He nodded.

"Anyways, I gotta hurry and get him some food. You guys wanna come with?"

"Sure." Logan said.

They got him some food and went back to the infirmary. Roach immediately tensed up when he saw two people he didn't know... and a dog.

"Relax, Roach. This is Hesh, Logan, and Riley." Ghost said, gesturing to each one of them.

"... Hi..." Roach said. He was shy around new people, but when he got used to them he was fine.

They stepped forward and he shook both of their hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Roach." Logan said.

"Same to you. How have you guys been?"

"Busy, but good, the usual." Hesh said with a smile.

 _Damn, the poor kid really didn't get any sleep last night._ He thought, looking at his eyes.

"Here Roach," Ghost said, setting a tray of food on the table to his left.

He made a face as his stomach churned uncomfortably at the smell of food.

"I already told you I'm not hungry." He sighed.

"Well, that's too bad because I'm gonna bug you until you eat something."

"Have fun growing old while you're waiting." He deadpanned.

Logan and Hesh giggled, but tried to keep quiet so Ghost wouldn't get mad. Ghost glared at them and turned back to Roach.

"If you don't eat, I'm gonna force feed you."

"If you try to force feed me, I'm gonna bite your bloody arm off!" Roach laughed as Ghost made a face.

"You're gonna do WHAT?!"

Hesh and Logan burst out laughing just as everyone else walked in. Roach didn't know about half of them.

"What's so funny?" Archer asked, which only made them laugh harder.

Roach had to stop laughing because of his ribs. He looked at all the people.

"So... umm... who are all these people?" He asked, fidgeting uneasily.

"Oh, sorry Roach. I keep forgetting that you haven't met them yet. That's Merrick, Keegan, and Kick, it looks like you've already met Hesh, Logan, and Riley." Price said.

They stepped forward and he shook their hands as well. It was a bit awkward as he had to shake with his left hand because his right was broken.

"Hey, I forgot to ask you if you were okay with dogs, but you look like you don't mind them." Toad said.

"I like dogs when they aren't trying to kill me." He grinned.

"Did you sleep last night?" Archer asked, looking at his eyes.

"Nope."

"Hey! You told me you did!" Ghost said indignantly.

Roach shrugged.

"I've decided that I'm not going to try to lie when there's proof that I'm lying right on my face, it's kinda pointless."

"Your kid is very confusing, Price." Merrick said.

"I know! Sometimes he says really crazy things. And most of the time you can't tell if he's lying, but he always knows when everyone else is lying!" MacTavish said.

"And he's also sitting right here, so you might want to stop talking about him before he decides to bitch slap you." Roach said with a completely straight face.

Everyone started laughing.

"That's no way to speak to your Captain!" MacTavish said, still smiling.

"Well that's no way to talk about your Sergeant!" Roach said, imitating MacTavish's voice perfectly.

"Woah! How the hell did he do that?!" Kick asked.

Roach looked over at him.

"Talk for a minute or two."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

For the next minute or so, Kick said random things and Roach listened closely to the sound of his voice.

"Okay, I think I've got it."

"Got what?" Kick asked, clearly confused.

"Got the sound of your voice." Roach said, now imitating Kick.

Kick's mouth fell open and he looked at Roach like he was the coolest person he had ever met. Everyone laughed at the look on his face.

"That's awesome."

"Why didn't you get any sleep?" Toad asked curiously.

"Oh, I think I got plenty, thanks to Archer." He said shooting him a glare.

"What? I didn't do anything!" Archer said as he got about five times paler then he was a moment ago.

"I hope you know you're a terrible liar."

"Okay, what did I do then?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Don't play head games with me!"

"Why not? You seem to enjoy playing games with me, you're just mad because I know which game I'm playing."

"Roach, leave Archer be. He was just trying to help." Toad said.

"There is no 'help' for my situation, okay?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like."

"There's a solution to everything, you just have to find it."

"You're very optimistic."

"And you're not?"

"If you knew anything about me, then you would understand why I'm not an optimistic person."

They went silent. It was true, they knew hardly anything about Roach. He was the big mystery in the Task Force.

* * *

That night Roach lay awake in his bed, just waiting for the nightmares to come. He didn't get any sleep that night either.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: HELLO! Okay, so if you've been reading this story, you know that Roach has nightmares. And if anyone remembers chapter one, Ghost was thinking about how Roach would get mad if he had to take a drug that would stop the nightmares, but he would be declared unfit for duty. Well, guess what's gonna happen next? Yea, Roach does NOT like me right now, but as long as he doesn't shoot me I think I'll be okay! The medicine is called Prazosin, so if I mention that, then I'm talking about the stuff that stops nightmares (well... it's supposed to...). But be warned, I might make up some side effects. So if you look up Prazosin and it doesn't have the same side effects as in the story and someone PMs me and says that, I am going to laugh at you and tell you to read the author's note. Don't tell me I didn't warn you! :)**

* * *

The Ghosts were sitting in the rec room. They were all very bored. That's when they heard talking coming from the hall.

"Have you _seen_ how bad he looks today?"

"Yeah, we need to do something before he dies of sleep deprivation."

"I have something that should help with the nightmares, Roach probably won't like it though."

"What is it?"

"It's called Prazosin."

"Are there any crazy side effects?"

"That depends on the person."

"What are the possible side effects?"

"Just the usual stuff, headache, drowsiness, blurred vision, fever. There is also a small chance of temporary blindness, but that probably won't happen."

"That would be bad."

"Yeah, it would. You want me to go get it?"

"Sure, I'll meet you in Roach's room."

"Okay."

They all looked at each other. That sounded like Archer and Captain MacTavish.

"Well that was interesting." Logan said.

"Yeah it was." Hesh agreed.

"What the fuck is Prazosin?" Kick asked.

"It's a medicine that is supposed to stop nightmares, but it doesn't always work." Merrick explained.

"I guess this means the kid hasn't gotten any better." Keegan sighed.

They were all silent for a moment. They liked Roach. He was funny and sweet and it was nice having him around.

"He's gotten worse, actually." Ghost said, sitting down beside Riley on the floor.

"How has he gotten worse?"

"He hasn't had sleep in like two days, he's constantly nervous because something is bothering him, but he refuses to tell us what it is and there's like a whole list of other things that are wrong."

"What do you mean he won't tell you? Can't you just order him to tell you?"

He shook his head.

"That's not how Roach works. If he doesn't want to tell you something, you'll never find out. That's why interrogators hate dealing with him. He's really stubborn."

"Damn, that's bad." Kick said.

"Yeah, well I gotta go check on Roach, so I'll see you guys later."

"Alright." Merrick said.

Ghost left and headed for the infirmary. When he got there MacTavish, Archer, and Price were already there. Toad was probably wandering around the base looking for food or something. Roach was lying in his bed. He looked so tired.

"Here Roach, it's your pain meds." Archer said, holding a small cup out with a pill in it for him to take.

Roach made no move to take the cup and gave him a hard look.

"As I said I before, you're a terrible liar." He said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What are you talking about, Roach? It's your pain meds." Archer said, shoving the cup into his hands.

Roach looked into the cup and shoved it back at him.

"Pain meds my ass. I don't know what the fuck that is, but it certainly isn't pain meds."

"Just take it, would you?" Ghost said.

"I'm not taking it until I know what it is."

"Roach, if you don't take it I'm gonna-"

"If you try to make me take it, you'll notice at least one of your fingers are missing." He growled threateningly.

Silence...

Silence...

"Don't you want the nightmares to stop?" Archer asked quietly.

"Oh, so that's what this is about. Well, I hate to break it to you but there is no such thing as a magical pill that stops nightmares."

"It's worth a shot though."

Silence...

"Please, Roach. We'll be here for a few months while you're healing up and you might as well not suffer the whole time." Archer pleaded.

"What is it?"

"Prazosin, it should help with the nightmares."

"Side effects?"

"Just regular stuff fever, blurred vision."

He thought for a moment.

"If it doesn't work, I'm _not_ taking any more." He said, putting an emphasis on the word not.

"Deal."

* * *

 _"It was all your fault!" Charlie yelled._

 _Charlie was back. He was covered in blood and still had the knife in his chest, and maggots were all over him, by his chest mostly. He was angry._

 _"Charlie... I'm so sorry I didn-"_

 _"You're not sorry! You're probably happy I'm not around to annoy you anymore!" He spat._

 _"How could you say that? I loved you, Charlie!" Roach said, tears filling his eyes._

 _"Yeah and then you let dad murder me!"_

 _"I didn't mean to!"_

 _"Yes you did, Gary. I hate you!"_

 _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I left you, Charlie!" He cried, tears running down his face._

 _"Saying sorry doesn't help anything!"_

 _"I'm sorry..." He said, falling on his knees and hiding his face in his hands._

 _"It doesn't matter now. Because you're gonna be stuck with me and you'll have plenty of time to make up for your mistake." Charlie said, pulling the knife from his chest and playing with it._

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _"You're coming with me."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"It'll be fun!" He said excitedly._

 _"Wha-"_

 _Charlie stabbed him in the chest. Blood went everywhere, but he didn't feel any pain._

 _"That's what you get for killing your brother." Charlie said coldly._

* * *

"Roach wake up!"

He felt hands grabbing at him. He sat up too fast and his ribs felt like they were on fire. Someone shoved him back down. Wait, who was that? His eyes flew open, but it was still dark. He blinked several times. Still the same, pitch black. He couldn't see _anything_! His hands immediately moved up to his face. Why the hell couldn't he see?! His breathing got faster.

"Roach, are you okay?" A voice said.

He flinched away from it.

"Roach?"

He moved father away from it until he was on the edge of the bed. He felt like he couldn't breathe. Someone grabbed him and tried to bring him closer to them.

"C'mere, I need t-"

"No!"

He shoved at them and jumped when he heard something break. All at once, more hands were there, forcing him to lay down.

"Nooo! Leave me alone!" He yelled.

He still couldn't see. Why couldn't he see?!

"Roach, it's okay. Calm down."

He struggled against the hands, but none of them would budge. His eyes darted around the room, but he still couldn't see.

Archer looked at him. His eyes weren't focusing on anything like they were supposed to.

 _No... it couldn't be..._

"Roach, let me look at your eyes."

He jerked back and closed his eyes when he felt hands grabbing at his face.

"What is it?" Another voice nearby asked.

He held up a hand, telling Ghost to give him a minute.

"Damn it. Roach, open your eyes please."

He shook his head, keeping his eyes closed.

"Please, Roach. I just need to look at them." Archer begged.

Suddenly there was a loud bang on the other side of the room. His eyes shot open and searched the room with unseeing eyes.

 _Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! WHY THE FUCK CAN'T I SEE?!_

"Roach. Hey, look at me."

His eyes looked in the general direction the voice had come from, but still didn't focus. Archer grabbed his chin and turned his head this way and that, hoping he wasn't right, but sadly he was.

"You can't see, can you?" He sighed, letting go of him.

"No... what's wrong with my eyes?"

Archer thought about the side effects of Prazosin.

 _Damn it._

"Don't worry, it's just temporary."

"What do you mean _temporary_?"

"That means you should be able to see again by tomorrow afternoon."

He nodded and stared up at where he figured the ceiling was.

"Ummm... aren't you, you know... mad?" Archer asked nervously.

"Too tired to be mad." He said through a yawn.

"What was it about?"

"Fuck you, 'm not tellin you." He said, giving him the bird.

"Why not?"

"Cause it none of your business."

"Yeah, it is. Tell me."

"Nope."

"Please tell me?"

"Never ever."

"Roach, if you don't tell me, then I'm gonna-"

"What are you gonna do? Sedate me to death?"

"That's a good idea." He said, leaving the room.

"That wasn't meant to be taken literally..." Roach said to the empty room.

* * *

 **A/N: Yay! I made Roach blind! Woohoo. That was fun. REVIEW! :D**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Yay! Angst! So much fun. :D**

* * *

Roach lay in his bed, asleep. They had sedated him because he really needed sleep and he was freaked out. He didn't like not being able to see. Every time someone moved or made a noise, he flinched. So they decided it would be alot less stressful for him if he slept it off.

"What the hell, Archer?" Price said angrily.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know it was going to do that!"

"Well now it's worse. We're not trying that again."

"What else do you suggest we do?"

Price thought about it.

"I guess we could put sedatives in his dinner, just to get him through the night." He suggested.

"That's just gonna piss him off."

"Not if he's unconscious." Price grinned.

"But that's mean!"

"It's better than letting him die."

Silence...

"Well I suppose that's true, but it's not gonna make him any less mad."

"Yeah, but we can deal with that later. We should let him hang out in the rec room tomorrow. It might cheer him up some."

"I'm fine with it as long as he doesn't walk anywhere."

Price nodded, then another thought came to mind.

"When are you going to take his stitches out?"

"It depends on when his sight comes back, but the ones in his face can probably come out tomorrow." Archer replied. Those ones should've come out yesterday, but it wouldn't hurt to leave them in one more day. It would just make getting them out more uncomfortable for Roach.

"Alright. I'm gonna go get some rest, I suggest you do the same." Price said, heading for his room.

Tomorrow afternoon...

The black fog receded once again.

 _Oh, finally!_

Roach warily opened his eyes, hoping to be able to see. He gasped when he opened his eyes and it was still dark.

 _Damn it! Why can't-_

That's when he realized the lights were off.

 _Well now I feel stupid._

He sighed and looked around the room, wondering where everyone was. Suddenly the lights came on. He groaned and put an arm over his eyes, carefully avoiding the stitches. Several people walked into the room.

"Roach!" Archer said, rushing over to him.

"Can you see?" He asked, pulling at his arm.

"Yes, and give me a heads up next time you're gonna turn the lights on like that."

"Sorry, we didn't know if you were up yet. You sleep like a hibernating bear." Toad teased.

"That's because Archer is a bit too enthusiastic with the sedatives." He said, shooting Archer a glare.

"Hey, it's not my fault you... never mind, it was. Sorry Roach!" Archer said from another room.

"Yeah, whatever. When do I get to hang out somewhere else? This hospital room is boring."

Archer came back in, holding a pair of tweezers and a small pair of scissors.

"After I get the stitches out of your face."

"On second thought, I think I'll just stay here." Roach said, paling slightly.

"Nope, I gotta get those out today."

Archer sat down beside him on the bed and grabbed the scissors.

"C'mere." He said, reaching for him.

"I think I'll stay over here, thanks." Roach said, scooting further away.

Archer leaned forward and put a hand around his waist, pulling him back towards him.

"Ugh, can't you do this tomorrow?" He whined as Archer pulled his upper half into his lap.

"No, that's not good for you. Sit still."

He decided to start at the top, by his eyes, and work his way down. As he moved in with the scissors, Roach flinched away, causing him to miss. He did _not_ like having scissors so close to his eyes.

"Dude, I said sit still." Archer said, moving in again.

Once again, Roach flinched and he missed.

"I hope you know the faster we get done with this, the faster you get to go hang out in the rec room."

Roach shifted uncomfortably as the scissors got closer... and closer... and closer to his left eye. He flinched again.

"Alright, that's it. Close your eyes." He commanded.

"Why?"

"If you can't see anything, you're not gonna flinch."

"I don't wanna." He whined.

"Fine, I'll just have Toad do it for you then." Archer said.

Toad walked over and put a hand over his eyes.

"You're such a traitor." He said to Toad.

"I usually listen to the person who scares me more, and between you and Archer, I gotta say it's Archer."

"That's just because I currently can't walk."

"True."

Archer carefully slid the scissors under the first suture and snipped. Reaching over Roach for the tweezers, he grabbed the small knot and gently pulled the stitch out. Roach winced and tensed up.

"Relax, it'll hurt worse if you tense up." Archer advised.

Roach tried to relax while he continued to take the stitches out. When Archer moved away from his eyes, it was easier to relax. After a few minutes, he stopped. He was about to ask if they were done, but Archer beat him to it.

"All done. Now you get to go to the rec room!" He said happily as he put the supplies away.

"Ummm... how am I getting there? I can't really walk..."

"One of us is gonna have to carry you."

"Nevermind, I'll just stay here."

"Nope, you need to go socialize with some people." Archer said as he hooked an arm under his knee and supported his back with the other.

"Put me down."

"Stop whining, it's not far." Archer said as he walked through the hallway.

"I swear to god if you don't put me down..." He started, but his mind chose that moment to go blank.

"What are you gonna do?" Toad asked curiously.

He ignored him and shook his head to clear it.

"I hope you know I hate you." He said as they walked into what he assumed was the rec room. The Ghosts looked up as they came in.

"Awww, I love you too Roach." Archer said, setting him down on the couch.

He sighed and flipped him off.

"Hey, Roach. How are you doing?" MacTavish said as he came in with Cpt. Price and Ghost.

"Fine. Archer is an ass, though."

They both raised an eyebrow.

"You're just mad because I took the stitches out of your face." Archer argued.

"And almost poked my eye out with those damn scissors of yours!"

"I did not! You were just nervous about having scissors near your face."

"And you're not?!"

"No, not really."

"Do you want me test that theory?" He threatened.

"Nope, definitely not."

"You shouldn't have said that."

"Why?"

"Because now I want to."

"You better not."

"I feel like I should."

"If you do that I'm gonna sedate you!"

"You do that all the time as it is!"

"With good reason."

"What sort of reasoning do you have? It's definitely not what I call logical."

"That's enough, you two. Seriously, you're giving me a headache." Merrick grumbled.

"We are not!" They chorused, then glared at each other.

"This is getting creepy." Logan said.

"Yeah, it is. Do you feel any better, Roach?"

"No, I feel like shit." He said, leaning back into the couch.

Riley ran into the room and barked at Roach, then he jumped up onto the couch with him.

"Excuse you, this is my spot." He said, shoving at him.

Riley whined and scooted closer to him, laying his head on his leg.

"He likes you, be nice to him." Hesh said.

"You know, just because I don't feel like pushing you off of me right now doesn't mean I won't later." Roach said to the dog.

Riley looked at him as if he understood and sat there quietly.

He looked over at Hesh and Logan and said, "If your dog slobbers on me, he's getting shoved off the couch."

"You're so grumpy." Keegan said.

"You would be grumpy too if you felt like you got run over by a tank."

"Dude, I gave you your pain meds, why are you whining?" Archer said.

"Those don't help, they just give me a headache." He said, playing with Riley's fur.

"You always have a headache."

"I do not."

"Yes you do."

Roach glared at him.

"You know what you should do?" Ghost said.

He looked at him to show he was listening.

"You should tell me what your nightmare was about."

Roach groaned and covered his face with his arm as pictures of his dead little brother flashed through his mind.

"Fuck no."

"Oh, come on. Please?"

"No."

"Fine, I'll guess then. Hmmm... was it about when you got captured?"

"If you don't shut the fuck up, I'm either gonna leave or bitch slap you and I can assure you, you won't like either of them."

"You can't leave because you can't walk." Kick said evenly.

"I'll find a way. Don't doubt me."

"Seriously though, what was the nightmare about?" Price asked.

"I already told you no." He growled.

"Well I told you to tell me."

"And I told you no." He said stubbornly.

"Why are you so stubborn? I'm not asking you to go into detail, I'm just asking you to tell me what the fuck it was about."

 _I guess I'm not getting out of this, so I'll just make something up._

"You all died." He lied, forcing tears into his eyes to make it look like he was telling the truth.

Riley sat up and barked at him.

"Riley says you're lying." Logan said.

Roach glared at the Riley and shoved him off the couch.

"Get off me, jerk."

Riley whined and went to sit with Logan.

"You really need to stop lying." Toad said quietly.

"Shut up, Toad."

"If you told someone you'd feel better."

"You just told me not to lie and now you are."

"I'm not lying. It's not good to bottle up all your feelings because at some point, you'll explode."

"I don't care."

"You will later."

He looked him in the eye and knew he was just trying to help, all of them were. But none of them could, not with this. If he told them it would just cause trouble. His biggest fear was them finding out about Charlie and blaming him for his death and kicking him out of the Task Force. He felt like he should tell them and explain, but at the same time he was scared it would hurt. He'd already had enough pain in his life, he didn't need more. But no matter what he did, there was always pain. It was like a constant companion, except you didn't like it. No one liked pain. Especially when it seemed to follow you no matter where you went.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, talk about a dramatic ending! Whoop whoop! REVIEW! :P**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm goin crazy. WINTER BREAK IS HERE! THAT MEANS I GET TWO WHOLE ENTIRE WEEKS AWAY FROM THE TERRIBLE HELL I CALL SCHOOL. AND THAT ALSO MEANS UPDATES. DRAMATIC. ANGSTY. AWESOME. UPDATES. YAAAAAAYYYY! I THINK I HAD TOO MUCH COFFEE...**

* * *

They all sat around for a while after Archer brought Roach back to the infirmary. They all knew Roach wasn't going to get any sleep without some... stimulation. When he ate his dinner, it had sedatives in it. He didn't eat much, but they were just glad he ate _something_ and was getting some rest. It was almost 9:00 at night now.

"Damn." Toad said, shaking his head.

"I know. Roach wouldn't tell us even if we killed him."

"We''ll just have to find a way to get through to him."

"You make it sound so easy." Logan said.

"It is easy. If you're not dealing with a stubborn arse like Roach." Keegan laughed.

"That didn't help. At all."

"Hey, how did Riley know he was lying?" Price asked Hesh and Logan.

"He was sitting in his lap, so he probably felt his pulse speed up which showed he was nervous, which meant he was most likely lying."

"Huh. Well that was awesome, we're doing it again."

"Um, Roach probably isn't gonna let Riley sit with him again."

"Too bad for him. Because he's gonna sit with the damn dog whether he likes it or not."

The next day, Roach woke up fairly early. After Archer cleaned his wounds, made sure he ate something for breakfast, and he took his pain meds, they went to the rec room. Roach still hated being carried and he whined about it to no end, but Archer ignored him. Archer was curious as to why he hated being carried so much, so he started walking really slowly just to buy time and see how Roach would react.

"What's up with you?" Archer asked.

"What do you mean?" He replied tensely.

"Why does it bother you so much when someone carries you?"

"I don't know, it just does."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. And if you don't start walking faster I'm gonna kick your ass." Roach said as he squirmed uncomfortably in his arms.

"If you don't stop moving I'm gonna drop you." He teased.

"I swear to god, if you drop me-"

"I'm not going to drop you. But I'm not gonna put you down until you tell me why you hate being carried."

"Archer. Put me down."

"Nope. We can walk around like this all day unless you tell me."

"Put. Me. Down." Roach said, writhing in his arms. He felt Archer's hold on him tighten and he panicked, struggling harder.

"Stop moving!" Archer said, taking pity on him and heading for the rec room.

"I will if you put me down!"

"If you wait a secon-" Archer went to say, but was cut off when he tripped on the raised doorway of the rec room.

Roach was still panicking about not being able to get down, but suddenly he felt weightless. That didn't last long though. He hit the floor hard and it knocked the breath out of him. Pain exploded in his head as it came into contact with something solid. Then everything went black.

°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°»°«°

As usual, mostly everyone was hanging out in the rec room. Keegan and Merrick were in another part of the base, practicing their aim. But everyone else was in the rec room, most of them playing video games or reading. They heard talking coming from down the hall and knew it was Archer and Roach. They sounded like they were arguing about something.

"Stop moving!"

"I will if you put me down!"

They were right outside the door now.

"If you wait a secon-"

They heard a surprised gasp and looked up just in time to see Archer trip over something and drop Roach. Roach hit his head pretty hard on the floor, then immediately went limp. Everyone got up and rushed over to Roach, who seemed to be unconscious. Archer was the fastest and got to him first.

"Roach! Wake up!" He yelled, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him.

By now, the rest of them were all crowded around, trying to see if Roach was okay. He didn't respond to anything, though. He kind of just... laid there. Archer gave up on trying to wake him up and was now checking for concussion. He forced Roach's eyes open and shined a bright light into them, looking at his pupils. One was alot larger than the other.

"Shit, someone help me get him back to the infirmary."

"Don't tell me he has a concussion." Hesh said.

"He does, we gotta go."

"Damn it." Ghost said as he carefully picked him up.

They all went to the infirmary and watched as Archer starting working on Roach. The first thing he did was put an IV in his left hand, probably something to help with the pain. Then he went over to a table and grabbed a syringe. At first, they thought he was going to give him some kind of medicine, but then he stuck the needle in Roach's arm and started drawing blood.

"Why do you need blood samples?" Toad asked.

"I have to do tests to see how bad the concussion is. I would do an MRI or a CAT scan, but we don't have the supplies for that and I'm not taking him to a hospital."

"Why not?"

"Because he would sneak off as soon as he woke up, he's done it before." Archer replied as he took the needle out of Roach's arm and set it down on the table.

"Oh, yeah. I remember when he did that. You were so pissed."

Archer didn't reply, as he was checking on his other injuries. His face was mostly fine, although a nasty black eye was starting to form. He wasn't going to be happy about that. The cut on his face was starting to scar, but that was okay. His breathing was shallow, but that was pretty normal if you had five broken ribs. He pulled his shirt up and removed the bandages around his abdomen to get a look at his ribs. They looked worse than before. There were nasty black and purple bruises that trailed all the way up his sides.

"He doesn't look so good..." Logan said quietly.

He tried not to stare at the dozens of scars that marred his body, but it was surprisingly difficult. He couldn't believe that Roach was only 19 and had so many scars. He wanted to ask about it, but figured it was a personal question and didn't want to offend anyone.

"Well he _was_ getting better, but now it's gonna take longer for him to recover." Archer sighed as he tightly wrapped the bandages around his ribs again.

He grabbed Roach's shoulder and rolled him over just enough to see his back. Blood was on the sheets from where his opened cuts had bled through his shirt and onto the mattress. Several cuts had opened from when he fell and they were bleeding. Archer left him where he was and got some peroxide and cotton balls. He set those down and cut his shirt off so it would be easier to get to the cuts. Roach didn't respond when he started cleaning the open wounds with the peroxide, he was still out cold. It didn't take Archer long to finish up.

Keegan and Merrick rushed into the room, looking relieved at first, but then they saw Roach.

"What happened?"

"Archer dropped him and now he has a concussion. Yes- you can blame Archer." Price said with a smirk.

"Hey! It was Roach's fault! He wouldn't sit still and then I tripped."

"Did you really expect him to sit still while you were carrying him all over the fucking base? You know he doesn't like being carried." Ghost said pointedly.

"Why does that even bother him anyways?" Kick asked.

"I'm not sure." Keegan chimed in.

"Would you guys shut up! If he wakes up and freaks out, I'm sending you all out and you won't be allowed to see him for a week!" Archer said, glaring at the whole lot of them.

"Sorry." Everyone mumbled.

Archer sighed and grabbed the syringe filled with Roach's blood and went to one of the nurses standing in the corner. He gave it to her and said something they couldn't hear. She left with the blood and Archer came back and continued to look Roach over.

"Where's she going?"

"To the lab to test Roach's blood. I was going to do it, but I don't wanna leave him alone with you guys."

They all looked offended.

"We can deal with him just fine, thankyou very much."

"That's not what I meant. Concussions are the kind of thing where you have to watch the person constantly to make sure they don't die or pass out or do anything else that is bad. They have to be taken care of constantly and I'll probably have to experiment with a few things, so unless any of you feel like doing that, I suggest you be quiet and leave me be."

"Damn, that was harsh." Keegan said, shaking his head.

"I'm not a nice person." He shrugged, looking at the stitches in Roach's leg.

"How bad is it?" Price asked.

"Oh, his leg is fine. But his ribs got worse and he opened a few cuts on his back. I'm just glad he didn't try to catch himself when he fell, not that he really had enough time to."

"Does he have a fever?" Merrick asked.

Roach's face was flushed and he was sweating profusely.

"Hang on a sec." He said as he finished looking at his leg.

He laid a hand on his forehead and swore.

"Holy shit."

He went to the table and dug through the supplies until he found a thermometer. He walked back over to Roach and tried to put it in his mouth. Roach's jaw immediately locked when he felt something near his face. He turned away from the thermometer.

"It's a fuckin' thermometer, open your mouth." Archer said, lightly slapping his face.

Roach growled and moved away from his hand. Archer grabbed his face and tried to force his mouth open. Then Roach's eyes opened.

Roach's POV... mostly

Something was by his face and he moved away from it.

 _Can't you just leave me alone for once?!_

He could hear someone talking to him and then someone touched his face. He growled. He didn't like people messing with his face. Someone grabbed his face.

 _Holy fucking shit!_

His eyes snapped open, only to be met with blindingly bright light, which did _not_ help his headache. He immediately shut his eyes and tried in vain to make the incessant pounding in his head go away. He felt like he was burning and freezing to death at the same time and he felt like he was gonna throw up. He didn't even notice he was shivering.

"Roach? Are you awake?"

Each word he spoke made the pounding ten times worse. It felt like his head was being split in half. He curled up on his side and held his head, trying to make it stop. Tears pooled in his eyes. Pain flared up in his ribs and the pounding got worse when he heard people talking. Tears ran down his cheeks in a constant stream and the pain in his ribs increased as his breathing got faster. He felt hands pawing at him, trying to get him to lay on his back so he wouldn't hurt his ribs worse, but he didn't care.

"What's wrong?"

The pounding got worse and worse until he couldn't bear it anymore. He cried harder and it got difficult to breathe. The pounding got worse as he heard more talking, but this time it was closer. He felt someone rub something on his arm, but was too far gone to care. Then there was a pinprick in his arm and a few moments later, the darkness came. But this time he welcomed it.

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh... I'm dying from the sugar crash of death... BUT... there is a way to save me... *whispers* review...!**

 **P.S.- "Review" was my last word, so you better review. If you don't I'll haunt you...**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hey guys! ...huh... i don't have much to say today...**

* * *

After what seemed like eternity, the fog receded once again. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed the dull throbbing in his head. He recognized the hospital room he was in, although the lights were all turned off.

 _What the hell...?_

He looked around and realized no-one was in the room. He noticed the IV in his arm and decided to leave it in for now. After a few minutes, he got annoyed with the IV and took it out. It was odd, his ribs seemed to hurt more than usual. If he moved in the slightest, they felt like they were on fire. Suddenly he felt extremely nauseous and he leaned over the side of the bed and emptied the contents of his stomach into the trash can beside the bed. He felt a little better now, but he got dizzy when he moved too fast. Ugh, he couldn't even fool himself. He felt like shit.

A few minutes later Archer came in to check on him, only to find that he was awake.

"Roach! You're awake! How are you feeling?"

He winced when the pounding in his head got a bit worse.

"Oh, sorry Roach. Do you want more pain meds?" He asked quietly.

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You don't look-"

"Yes, Archer. I'm sure."

"Did you get sick?" Archer asked, aware of a foul smell in the room.

Roach nodded and silently pointed to the trash can. Archer took the trash can and cleaned it out. Roach watched him from the bed. His body language said he felt guilty about something. He had also noticed that Archer was being nicer to him than usual.

 _Why does he feel guilty? What happened?_

He thought about what happened earlier, but everything was blurry and unclear. That worried him. He remembered that morning, Archer looking over his injuries, then eating breakfast, and taking his meds. Then he remembered Archer carrying him around, trying to get him to tell him why he hated being carried. Everything after that was blurred beyond recognition. Then everything went black. He did know he had a concussion, though. He had had a few before and knew how they felt. He just didn't know how he had gotten the concussion. That's what confused him.

He slowly sat up and groaned when he got dizzy. He put his head in his hands but immediately recoiled when the area around his right eye hurt really bad.

"What the fuck?"

Then he realized that since he had a concussion, he probably had a black eye.

 _Oh man, I probably look like shit._

"You look like shit, Roach."

He jumped when Ghost voiced his thoughts.

"Oh, hey Ghost." He said as everyone else filed into the room. They all sat down and started talking. Archer had disappeared, though...

"How are you holding up?" Merrick asked.

"I'm good."

"Really?" MacTavish asked.

"No, I feel like shit."

"Well, that makes sense." Logan said. Yesterday they had gotten the results of the blood test back. It was a mild concussion, nothing that could kill him but it would hurt like hell.

"Yeah. Umm... why do I have a concussion?"

"Because you hit your head."

"Don't make me bitch slap you."

"You're mean." Hesh said, making a face.

"Don't change the subject!" Roach said angrily.

"I didn't, we're still on the same subject."

"Don't play head games with me either."

"Ugh! Do you know _every_ trick in the damn book?!" Kick asked.

"Yes. If you change the subject again, I'm leaving."

"But you can't!" Keegan said, looking at his leg.

"Watch me." He said defiantly.

"You have a bad attitude." Price said.

"It's because I'm a teenager."

"No you're not!" Merrick said, shocked. The kid didn't look like a teenager.

"He actually is, I think he's 19?" Toad asked, looking at Roach.

"Yep. And if you think my attitude is bad now, you should've seen me when I was 15."

"Really? How bad was it?"

"I TP'd everything in sight and cops hated me."

"Oh God. You were one of _those_ teenagers?"

"Yeah, I did some pretty awesome stuff, though."

"Stuff like what?"

"Stuff that's none of your business. Now tell me how I got a damn concussion before I go find answers myself."

"Okay, okay. What do you know?"

"I know that whatever happened was Archer's fault."

"Why do you say that?" Price asked, not wanting to admit that he was right just yet.

"His body language shows he feels guilty and he's also being a lot nicer than usual."

"How is he being nicer?"

"He hasn't tried to make me eat or take any meds yet, usually by now he would have."

"Huh. Well you're right, it was _partly_ Archer's fault."

"Only partly? Damn, that was unexpected." He said sarcastically.

"Do you even remember what happened?"

"Nope, maybe I'll remember later."

"No wonder you're not mad." Archer sighed in relief as he entered the room.

"That doesn't mean you're in the clear. He said it was partly your fault, so that's enough for me to yell at you for."

"If you can't remember, then what are you gonna yell at me for?"

"... I'll make something up!"

"Okay. Have fun doing that."

Roach seemed deep in thought for a moment.

"Nah, I think it'd be better to just bitch slap you instead." He said seriously, shooting him a murderous glare.

Archer retreated to the other side of the room.

"Hey, be nice. It was partly your fault, too, Roach." Soap said, looking at Archer.

"Prove it then."

Soap was at a loss for words. He couldn't prove anything without telling him what happened, but if he told him what happened, he knew Roach would be pissed.

Roach saw him thinking about it and said, "You might as well just tell me, I'm gonna remember it later anyways."

Soap took a deep breath, then said, "Fine, but you have to promise you won't get mad at Archer."

Roach laughed, but it quickly turned into a grimace when his ribs hurt worse.

"I'm not promising you shit."

"Then I'm not telling you."

"That's fine with me. I'll just wait until I remember and then I'll bitch slap Archer."

"You're not allowed to bitch slap anyone, Roach."

Suddenly he didn't see them or the room anymore. He was being carried by Archer, and they were almost to the rec room. But then he fell.

 _No, you were dropped._

It was bad, though. As he fell, all he could see was his mother, dead in that hospital bed. After that everything went black and he could see the room again.

"Roach?" Ghost asked, snapping his fingers to get his attention.

But he wasn't paying attention. He didn't care about what was going on with everyone else, he was focused on Archer. The one who dropped him and gave him a concussion. He was pissed.

"You dropped me."

Everyone in the room was silent. Archer paled and stayed as far away from Roach as he could.

"Roach, I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry, because you're not. You're just scared." He said, his voice low. It scared everyone more than yelling ever could.

"I really am sorry. I didn't mean to drop you! It was an accident!" Archer said, looking at Roach as if he were about to pounce on him.

There was a lot of tension in the room. Roach left it like that, he didn't say anything. The silence was killing everyone and he knew it. He let it hang over them like a thick fog and didn't say anything for about five minutes. Those had been the worst five minutes of Archer's life.

"It's fine." Roach sighed.

Archer nearly fell on his face. Everyone else looked at him like he grew a second head or something.

"What did you just say?!" Toad half yelled.

He grimaced when the loud noise made his head pound.

"Shut the fuck up, Toad. I have a headache." He said, shutting his eyes.

"Did you just say it was fine?" Archer asked.

"Yes, yes, it's fine. I don't give a fuck. But no one is carrying me anymore, I'll either walk or just stay where I am."

"No, you're not walking until I get those stitches out." Archer said quickly.

"I guess I won't be going anywhere, then." He said simply.

"Oh, come on Roach. It can't be _that-"_ Toad started to say.

"It _is_ that bad, so leave it be. I'll just stay here."

"I know you, Roach. You'll get bored after five minutes." Ghost said.

"How could I possibly get bored with all of you guys always here?" He asked, his eyes jumping from person to person.

"He does have a point. I mean, someone is always with him." Kick said evenly.

"No, he's not just going to sit here until his stitches come out! That'll be several days from now! I'll get him a wheelchair if I have to, but I refuse to just let him sit here." Archer said, clearly not a fan of the idea.

"Excuse me mom, but I'm sitting right here." Roach said. He was starting to get annoyed.

"Did you just call me mom?"

"And are you not starting to act like one? Always ordering me to do shit and talking to everyone else about my problems, while I'm in the room no less! It's getting on my nerves." He growled.

"I do not! You're the one always making reckless decisions and almost getting yourself killed."

"Do you think I do that on purpose or something?!" He said, offended that Archer would think something like that.

"Would you two stop fighting! You've been at each other's throats ever since we got here and that needs to stop. You're on the same fucking team, start acting like it." Price shouted.

Roach didn't expect anyone to yell and he jumped, nearly falling off the bed. But luckily, he caught himself in time and managed not to fall. He wrapped a hand around his midsection and clenched his teeth, as his ribs felt like they had been set aflame.

"Looks like it's time for more pain meds." Archer said as he found a syringe and started to fill it.

Roach just sat there. He always seemed so tense and jumpy nowadays.

"You need to stop being so jumpy, if you're not careful, you'll tear your stitches. I don't see why you're so nervous in the first place, I mean, the security around here is pretty damn awesome. I doubt anyone could get in at all, much less get to you."

"I know, but I don't have any weapons on me. I don't give a shit about security, until I get a weapon, I'm not gonna feel safe. Where are my weapons, anyways? I think I lost them when I got captured..."

"You did, but we found them in a pile on the floor in that room. They're around here somewhere, you can have them back later." He said as he gave him the shot. It should start working in a few minutes.

"I need to teach you how to lie. You suck at it." Roach sighed.

"Fine, then. I'm not giving you any weapons until you get healed up so you don't shoot me while I'm trying to give you pain meds. Better?"

"If you were going for blatantly honest, then it was wonderful." He laughed.

They all spent they rest of the day talking and enjoying each other's company.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hi! Yay, more nightmares! Those are fun. Also, there is a medicine called Alprazolam (oh god, that's a mouthful...) It's for anxiety/stress, so when I mention it later, that's what it's for. I just wanted to explain that in the A/N instead of in the chapter. Bye...**

* * *

 _"I can't believe you killed poor little Charlie!" John yelled._

 _"B-but I d-didn't!"_

 _"Yes you did! I'll prove it!"_

 _John took a picture out of his pocket and taped it up on the wall in front of Roach, right by the one of his dead teammates. It was a picture of Roach and Charlie. Roach was smiling and looked really happy, Charlie on the other hand, was covered in blood with a knife in his chest. His dead eyes seemed to stare right into Roach's soul, accusing him of murder. Roach started crying and looked away._

 _"You murdered Charlie! You killed him and now you can't even look at what you've done?!" John screamed furiously. He smacked him hard across the face._

 _Roach cried harder and tried to block the accusations, but when it really came down to it, it was his fault. If he had just been there to protect Charlie, then he wouldn't be-_

 _No! Don't think like that! It wasn't your fault! Part of him said._

 _Various torture weapons hung from the walls of the room they were in and John chose one and walked over to him. It was a lighter._

 _"This is what you get for killing Charlie!" He yelled, sparking the lighter and putting the flame by his arm._

 _It burned. John let it burn him until you could smell burning skin in the room. It made him want to puke._

 _"P-please stop! I... I'm sorry! I''m s-sorry!" Roach cried, tears running down his face._

 _"You're not sorry! You're getting what you deserve, so shut up and deal with it you little bitch!" John yelled as he moved to another spot on his arm, starting to burn it, too._

 _Roach screamed and pulled desperately at his restraints. Soon his wrists and ankles were raw and slick with blood, but he didn't care, he just wanted to get away from John._

 _"NO! S-STOP! LET ME GO!" He yelled, his throat raw and scratchy from screaming._

"Roach! Wake up!"

He gasped when the room and everything in it disappeared and he was pulled back into consciousness. He felt several pairs of hands holding him still and he automatically fought back. He opened his eyes and saw his dead teammates. They were covered in dirt, grime, and blood, some of them had knives in them, others had multiple gunshot wounds. Either way- they were all dead. He panicked and struggled against them, but there were too many of them and they were stronger than him.

"Roach, calm down!" Ghost yelled, grabbing his wrists and pinning them to the bed.

He felt someone pin his wrists to the bed and it only scared him more, bringing on a new wave of thrashing. Something in his left arm tore and it hurt like hell. He yelped as blood splattered onto the sheets and dead Archer walked over with a syringe.

"No, d-don't!" He yelled, fighting harder than before.

He felt Ghost tighten his grip on his wrists.

Dead Archer ignored him and stuck the needle in his arm and pushed the plunger down. A few moments later he got really tired, and the darkness took over once again.

* * *

"Damn it! He tore his stitches!" Archer yelled, frustrated.

"Sorry! We tried to keep him still, but he's fucking strong." Toad said.

"I'll just fix it while he's asleep." He sighed as he gathered the supplies he needed.

"How long will he be out?" Soap asked.

"Not too long, half an hour maybe. I only gave him a light sedative."

"That's good. Did you give him any new meds? The nightmares have gotten worse for some reason..."

"No, but I was gonna start giving him Alprazolam tomorrow. It should help with stress."

"He's not going to go blind again, right?"

"Oh, no. Not this time. The worst that could happen is some drowsiness and blurred vision, if that." Archer replied as he cleaned the blood from Roach's arm.

The Ghosts walked in, all looking tired. They had been asleep.

"What happened?" Kick asked, looking at the blood on the sheets.

"He had another nightmare, tore the stitches in his arm."

"Fuck, that's not good." Merrick said.

Archer started stitching Roach's arm up again. It wasn't a big cut, about an inch long. He wouldn't need too many stitches for it.

"At least he didn't tear the ones in his leg. If he had I would've killed him." Archer said.

"That's true, although I'm surprised he hasn't yet." Hesh said with a grin.

"He's probably just being careful because it's his leg." Keegan said.

Logan yawned sleepily.

"I'm goin' back to bed." He said.

"Me too." Hesh said, following his younger brother.

All of the Ghosts ended up going back to bed, leaving the rest of the Task Force alone with Roach. Archer had finished stitching his arm up. Now they were just waiting for him to wake up. A while later, Roach began to stir.

"Roach? Are you awake?"

He opened his eyes and looked around the room, eventually looking at them.

"It's very unsettling to know you guys watch me sleep." He said as he sat up with a slight grimace and rubbed at his eyes.

"We did not! You had a nightmare and tore your damn stitches!" Archer said defensively.

"Why does that not surprise me?"

"This has to stop. You need to tell someone what the nightmares are about so you can get rest and heal up."

"Is this the only reason you're all awake right now? Cause if it is, I'm gonna tell you guys to fuck off and go back to bed."

"If you don't tell one of us, I'm gonna make you go see a shrink." Soap said.

Roach turned and gave him a look that said, 'Oh really?'

"You can't _make_ me go see anyone."

"I can order you to go." Price said.

"Not unless you want a dead shrink to clean up." He said seriously.

"You wouldn't kill the shrink. You're not that kind of person."

"I don't like shrinks. In my opinion, they're worse than interrogators. Instead of torturing you for answers, they play head games with you all day."

"Well you won't have to go see a shrink if you tell one of us what the nightmares are about." Ghost said evenly.

"You're talking about them as if they're all the same."

"I didn't think they were. What was the one you just had about?" Toad asked curiously.

"Fuck that, I'm not tellin' you."

"Then you can go see-"

"I'll tell Ghost." He said simply, looking over at Ghost.

Everything was quiet for a moment. They were all shocked he was going to tell someone.

"Does that mean we have to leave?" Archer asked.

"Yep, bye."

They all sighed and left the room.

"Shut the door! And don't be eavesdropping, or I'll come out there and kill you!"

Ghost came over and sat by him.

"So what was it about?" Ghost asked quietly.

Silence...

Silence...

Silence...

"Please tell me. It'll make you feel better."

Silence...

Silence...

"Roach, please. I need to know."

More silence...

"You all died because I made a mistake." Roach whispered, his voice cracking on the word died.

"Why would you think of something like that?"

"I didn't, they t-told me when I got c-captured."

"Why would you believe anything those bastards said?"

"I- I didn't... they had p-pictures." He said, the picture showing in his mind.

He shook his head and it disappeared.

Ghost was lost in thought.

 _How the hell did they get pictures of us dead when we were never dead?_

"Roach, it wasn't us. It was probably just some people they killed and played dress up with."

"I know... but sometimes... sometimes you guys still look dead." He said, avoiding Ghost's eyes.

Ghost sighed deeply.

"That's why you freaked out earlier, isn't it?"

Roach nodded.

"I d-didn't mean to... you all looked d..dead and it s-scared the shit out of me. S-sorry..." He said, hiding his face in his hands.

Ghost reached up and gently pulled his hands away. Roach's eyes were dilated and there were tears running down his cheeks. Ghost brushed them away with his thumb and hugged him. He had never seen Roach this upset over something. It scared him to see his best friend so shaken, but he was glad he had finally told someone about the nightmare. It was a problem that they still looked dead sometimes, though. He would have to ask Archer if there was any meds he could give Roach for flashbacks... After a while, he felt Roach pull away and he looked down at him.

"What is it?"

"...P-please don't... t-tell them..."

"Roach, you know they have to know about it at some point."

He shook his head vehemently.

"No! No, don't tell them!" He begged.

"Shhh... it's okay, we don't have to talk about it right now."

"But... but I don't want you to tell them!"

"Shhh, go to sleep. We'll talk about it in the morning." Ghost said soothingly.

Roach didn't want to, but eventually he did as he was told and laid down. Ghost stayed by his side until his breath evened out and he fell asleep. Then he left and went to bed himself. After all, what better time to go to bed than 4 a.m.?

* * *

 **A/N: Hi... again! I just wanted to thank Bakersbaker for giving me ideas (especially for this chapter) and helping me keep the story going! I wouldn't have been able to update so quickly without their help, so everyone who read this chapter should say a big thank you to them... silently though, you don't _actually_ have to review and thank them... but I suppose you could... if you felt like it... :P**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hello! ...#Goodbye!**

* * *

Ghost woke up around 9:00 the next morning and got some breakfast. No one else was in the cafeteria, so he had a quiet breakfast. Sadly for him, that was about the only quiet he would get for the rest of the day. He finished quickly and went to the rec room. All activity stopped when he walked into the room.

"What?" He asked, wondering why everyone had stopped what they were doing.

Then he was bombarded with questions about what Roach told him last night and if Roach told him anything at all. He felt like a famous person being attacked by the paparazzi.

"SHUT IT!" He yelled.

Everyone was quiet.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" He asked them.

"Did Roach tell you anything?" Toad asked anxiously, putting the book he was reading down.

"Yes."

"How do you know he wasn't feeding you shit?" Price asked.

"Because I just do. Roach is a damn good actor, but even he's not _that_ good."

"What did he tell you?" Kick asked.

"I'm not telling you. He said not to tell anyone."

"What?! Why not?!" Logan asked.

"Because it took us nearly two weeks to get him to tell someone about the nightmares and now he has. It shows that he trusts me and I'm not gonna break his trust."

"But... but you have to tell us!" Hesh said stubbornly.

"Who said so? I'll tell Price and MacTavish later, I trust they won't spread word about it."

Price and MacTavish smiled, happy that they would be told about it later.

"Please tell me!" Keegan said.

"No, I'd rather not have Roach murder me, thanks." He smiled before leaving the room.

He walked down the hallway that lead to Roach's room. When he got there, he saw that Archer was already in there.

"Hi Ghost." Roach said, seemingly in a bad mood.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, smiling and messing up his hair

Roach made a face and fixed his hair. It was getting long, going down into his eyes. They would need to cut it soon, Ghost thought absently.

"He's just mad because I'm gonna remove the stitches in his arm." Archer said, getting things ready.

"Yeah, whatever," Roach said to him, "This is why I hate doctors."

"Hey! I heard that!"

"That was kind of the point, dumbass!"

"You shouldn't call me names! It's not nice!" Archer said, setting a tray of supplies down.

"You two are like an old married couple. Always arguing." Ghost said, shaking his head and laughing at the face Roach made.

"Will you sit with him and try to keep him still for me?" Archer asked.

He saw Roach roll his eyes and smiled.

"Sure."

He sat on the table beside Roach and held his arm in the position Archer told him to. He kept Roach talking while Archer started removing the stitches.

"Did you sleep okay last night?"

Roach nodded, trying to keep his eyes away from the scissors by his arm. Honestly, he hadn't gotten much sleep last night, and it probably showed in his eyes, but he didn't trust himself to speak right now. Archer slid the scissors under the first suture and cut it. Then he got the tweezers and pulled the stitch out. He felt Roach tense, knowing he hated the feeling of things being pulled through his skin. He moved on to the next one and repeated the process. There were 18 stitches in this cut, so if Roach didn't sit still, this could take a while. That's why he had asked Ghost to keep him distracted while he worked.

They continued talking and he hurried, but was careful. He was glad he asked Ghost for help, because he was already halfway done. Removing stitches didn't take long if the patient was sitting still, but it could take over an hour if they kept moving, which was usually what Roach did. He just couldn't sit still. But since Ghost was there, keeping his arm still and talking to him it didn't take long for him to finish.

"See? That wasn't so bad." Archer said as he started cleaning everything up.

"It feels uncomfortable! I don't like it!" Roach said with a shudder.

"Well, the stitches in your leg are coming out tomorrow, and there's 39 of them. So if you don't sit still, it'll take forever."

"Wow, there's 39? That's a lot." Ghosts said, surprised at how many there were.

"Yeah, that's another reason why it took me so long to finish when we got here."

"So what are we gonna do now?" Roach asked curiously.

"You're not doing anything until you take your meds and get some breakfast." Archer said sternly.

Roach rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm not hungry, I'll eat later."

"No, dude, you lost like fifty pounds. You need to eat."

"Says the one who dropped me on the floor and gave me a concussion." He said sarcastically.

Archer ignored him and went to go get his meds. He found the bottle of pain meds and the Alprazolam. He wondered if Roach would refuse to take them. He knew he couldn't lie to him, it was practically impossible, but yet he couldn't see him willingly taking meds to help with stress... He hoped it would help with the nightmares too. Nightmares were often caused by stress and if the Alprazolam helped lower Roach's stress level, maybe it would make the nightmares less frequent. He brought them back to the room and set them on the table in front of Roach.

"What are those?" He asked, clearly suspicious of his motives.

Archer took two pills from the bottle of pain meds and put them in a small cup.

"These are your pain meds." He replied, handing him the cup.

Then he grabbed the bottle of Alprazolam and took one pill from it. He put it into another small cup. He looked up and saw Roach narrow his eyes at him as he finished downing the pain meds.

"This is Alprazolam. It helps with stress."

Roach raised his eyebrows and gave him a look that said, 'Do you _really_ think I'm gonna take that? _'_

"Why should I take that?"

"Because you've been stressed out ever since we got here and this should help."

"Sorry Archer, but I don't feel like waking up blind tomorrow."

"That can't happen. That's not even one of the side effects."

"What are they then? Will I wake up without a foot? Or an arm?" Roach asked, his eyes wide.

Archer laughed at his wild imagination.

"No, that's not even possible. You _might,_ and might means there is a very slim chance, have some drowsiness and blurred vision. But you probably won't."

"What's the point of taking it?"

"I've already told you, to help with stress."

"No, there's another reason. I can see it all over your face."

Archer sighed, knowing he would find out.

"You've been stressed, and in many cases, stress can cause nightmares. I'm hoping that the Alprazolam will lower your stress level and make the nightmares less frequent."

Roach considered it. He hated the nightmares because they scared the shit out of him and reminded him of the fact that John was still out there somewhere, probably looking for him. And he usually had more flashbacks after a nightmare, as he had last night. He hadn't had any yet today, but he was still nervous that it would happen. If it didn't help, he could always refuse to take it, but then Archer would probably find a way to force him to. But, he really couldn't think of a reason _not_ to take it. He could feel Ghost and Archer looking at him, waiting for a decision to be made.

"Fine." He said, awkwardly grabbing the cup with his left hand and taking the pill.

He ate about half of his breakfast before he felt full and wanted to go to the rec room. Archer had given him a displeased look when he saw he only ate half of his breakfast, but he ignored him. Archer managed to get him a wheelchair and he went to the rec room. Although, he refused to let anyone push him. He pushed himself in the wheelchair using his left arm. It was a bit slow and he wished he could use both arms, but it felt good to be in control. He didn't like it when someone else was in control of what he did or where he went, that's part of the reason why he hated doctors and hospitals.

He yawned, exhausted. It was strange. A while after taking his pain meds, he started to feel really tired... When he got to the rec room, the smell of alcohol hit him like a wall. Everyone in there had a beer. He shivered when he thought of John drinking and remembered how angry he used to get. Ghost was sitting on the couch. He laid down on the couch beside him and put his feet in his lap. Ghost looked at him, but otherwise didn't seem to care.

"Hey Roach! You want a beer?" Toad asked, holding one out for him.

"No thanks."

"Why not?" Kick asked, taking a sip from his beer.

"Dude, I'm not even old enough."

"Who gives a fuck? It's not like the cops are around." Hesh said.

"I don't care about the cops, I'm just not in the mood." He said, closing his eyes but trying not to fall asleep.

"What do you mean 'not in the mood'? ...Oh, I get it! Have you never drunk before?" Keegan asked curiously.

"Hey! I just said I wasn't in the mood, why are you assuming things?" Roach snapped.

"You haven't! Oh, this is gonna be fun." Logan laughed.

Roach made a face, not liking the smell of alcohol. His stomach churned as bad memories of John flashed through his mind.

"You look like your gonna be sick, what's wrong?" Ghost asked, looking at his face.

He waved a hand at him in response and Ghost gave him a puzzled look.

"Why are you so tired? You got sleep last night."

He sat there for a few moments, waiting for a response, but he didn't get any. After a while, he felt Roach relax and heard his breathing even out.

 _Is he sleeping? Why the hell is he sleeping? I thought he got sleep last night..._

"Roach?" He asked, leaning forward and gently patting his face.

Roach remained completely still, he didn't even twitch.

"Dude, is he sleeping?" Toad asked mischievously.

"I think so. It's weird though. Usually if you touch him while he's sleeping, he'll flinch or react somehow. He won't do anything now..."

Toad grinned and walked over to Roach. He started messing with his hair, braiding it and giggling when Roach didn't do anything.

"How old are you, five? Don't braid his hair..." Ghost said, swatting his hands away and fixing Roach's hair.

Archer walked in, looking around as if he were searching for something.

"Roach, I think I gave you the wrong-"

He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Roach sleeping, his legs in Ghost's lap.

"Oh... I guess I did give him the wrong ones..." He mumbled, coming over and looking at Roach.

"What do you mean?" Price asked.

Archer rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I accidentally gave him the wrong pain meds... and they kind of knocked him out..."

"Well no wonder he won't react to anything. Yay! That means we get to mess with Roach!" Toad said happily.

"No! Don't mess with him! He won't be out for that long and he'll kill you if you mess with him."

"Not if he's unconscious." Hesh said thoughtfully.

"Ugh. Fine, mess with him if you want to, but when he wakes up and kills you all I'm not gonna blame him. And don't do anything stupid. If you hurt him I'm gonna be pissed."

"Roach is right, you really are a pain in the ass. We are _very_ responsible people, we would never hurt him." Soap said sarcastically.

Archer shook his head, grabbed a beer, and sat down. He was too tired to argue with them right now.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi! I know it's getting boring guys, but I did hint at John looking for him... so watch out... But anyways, I got bored halfway through this chapter and then the evil side of my mind was all like, "Why don't you knock Roach out? That's always fun and entertaining." So I did. And it was fun so you guys aren't allowed to judge me. Nope. But, you can review. That'd be nice... Happy New Years! IT'S 2016! :P**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Yay! Reviews! So happy...**

* * *

John sat in the office of an abandoned building, looking at the circled location on his map. That's where Gary is. After a couple weeks of searching, they had finally discovered his location. He was staying with the Ghosts at their base, which was kind of a dumb move seems on how it was the closest place to his base. But after what he had done to Gary, he guessed his teammates had to bring him there if they wanted him to survive. Nonetheless, he was pleased that they had found him. Now he just needed a plan...

* * *

"Ugh! Do we have to do it _now_?" Roach whined as Archer got things ready to remove his stitches.

He didn't want anyone messing with his leg, he didn't like it. It made him nervous and he couldn't stop thinking about when he got stabbed.

"Yes, we have to do it now. Because if I did it later, you would probably hide somewhere and it would take forever to find you."

"Well duh! That's the point!"

Archer went out into the hallway and yelled, "GHOST! I NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"

He came back into the room and continued to get things ready. A few minutes later, Ghost walked in.

"What do you need help with?"

"I need you to sit with Roach while I remove the stitches in his leg."

"Yeah, okay." Ghost said.

He sat down on the hospital bed beside Roach. Roach just sat there, staring at his hands. He looked edgy.

"Hey, it won't be that bad. I'll be here." Ghost said, playfully punching his arm.

Roach gave him a small smile, but still wasn't looking forward to it. His leg was the most severe injury he had received. It didn't bother him that much when he got stitches removed from small cuts, but this was different. Archer told him there were 39 stitches because when they first got here, he had to open the point of entry (where he got stabbed) more in order to get the knife out because of the curved end. That's why there were so many stitches. He shuddered at the thought. Archer had everything ready on a table by the bed- a pair of scissors, tweezers, rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and bandages. He also had a muscle relaxant that would help Roach relax. He wouldn't use it unless he had to, but it was good to have it nearby just in case...

"Lie down." Archer said.

"Why?" Roach whined.

"Because it'll make it easier for me to remove the stitches." He explained, pushing at his shoulder.

He glared at him but complied, his upper half in Ghost's lap. Ghost put a hand on his chest to keep him still. He didn't mind sitting with Ghost, he did it all the time. He just didn't like not being able to watch what Archer was doing, it made him more nervous than he already was. The wound was a bit below mid-thigh, closer to the knee but not close enough to damage the joint. Roach was wearing shorts, so it wasn't hard to get to. Archer sat on the table beside Ghost and pulled Roach's leg into his lap. He got a cotton ball and put some rubbing alcohol on it, then started cleaning the wound. Roach hissed at the unexpected pain and blurred memories flashed through his mind. He tensed up even though Archer told him to relax.

He looked up at Archer, trying to see what he was doing but he could only see from his shoulders up. He discreetly tried to sit up a bit, just so he could see what he was doing... Ghost noticed and pushed him back down. He glared at him and Ghost just smiled.

"You aren't very intimidating when you're sitting in my lap."

"And if I wasn't?"

"Eh, that depends. You can't walk right now, so you don't scare me."

Roach rolled his eyes. Ghost studied the scar on his face, by his left eye. It looked like railroad tracks. Archer grabbed the scissors and cut the first suture, then he took the tweezers and gently pulled the stitch out. Roach shifted uncomfortably when he felt it go through his skin. He really didn't like this, the memories kept coming and he couldn't make them stop. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about it.

 _Without any warning John stabbed the knife into his right leg._

He desperately tried to think of something else, but it was impossibly difficult and Archer wasn't making it any easier. Archer cut the second suture and pulled it out with the tweezers.

 _He felt blood gush from the wound and onto the table. Searing pain ran through his leg, it was agonizing._

In his mind, he was in the room again, tied down on the cold metal table with John standing above him.

 _No, no that's not real... it's not real..._

He tried to convince himself that he was safe, in the hospital room with Ghost and Archer, getting his stitches removed. But when he opened his eyes again, he _was_ in the room with John. He blinked, hoping the image would disappear but it didn't. He started hyperventilating. Ghost was watching Archer finish removing the seventh stitch when he heard Roach's breathing speed up. It changed from slightly faster than normal to short, panting gasps in such a small amount of time that it scared him.

"Roach? What's wrong?" He asked, looking down at him.

Roach didn't respond. Archer stopped what he was doing and looked at Ghost.

"What is it?"

"He's hyperventilating. Roach, look at me." Ghost said, framing his face with his hands.

"Try to calm him down, I'm gonna keep working. Tell me if it gets worse and I'll give him something." Archer said.

Roach felt someone touch his face and flinched.

"Roach, it's okay. Calm down, you're fine."

He felt it when Archer started working again. His stomach churned. He tried to move his leg away, but didn't get far before Archer grabbed his leg and pulled it back into his lap. His breathing slowed down a bit, but then...

 _The knife went in another inch._

Roach cried out and nearly jumped off the table. Ghost had a strong hold on him though, and he didn't fall. Archer sighed and grabbed the syringe. He took Roach's arm and inserted the needle into it, then pushed the plunger down.

"What is that?" Ghost asked.

"It's a muscle relaxant. It'll help him relax."

Ghost nodded. It was smart of him to have something like that close by, knowing that Roach and stitches didn't go well together. The drug kicked in and Roach immediately relaxed. Archer started working again. He snipped the eighth suture and pulled it out. He kept going and tried to work quickly because the medicine's effects didn't last very long. Roach was feeling a bit better now. The memories disappeared and he was in the hospital room with Ghost and Archer again. He still didn't like the feeling of things going through his skin, but there was nothing he could do about it. He felt Archer's hand move further up his leg, following the trail of stitches as he removed them. It made him very uncomfortable.

"Quit it." He whined, fidgeting uneasily in Ghost's lap.

"Shhh, we're almost halfway done."

Ghost started playing with his hair to distract him. It helped some because it gave him something else to focus on, but he still didn't like the feeling of Archer's hand moving further and further up his leg and things being pulled through his skin.

"You okay?" Ghost asked as Archer removed the 23rd stitch.

Roach just nodded, he didn't feel like talking right now. But he got more and more restless as the drug started to wear off. The memories returned and by the time Archer got to the 30th stitch, he felt an overwhelming urge to get away from them and leave the room. He whined through his teeth as another stitch was pulled out of his leg.

"I know, I know. We're almost done, just nine more."

He didn't think he could handle any more of those horrible memories. He had tried to ignore them, but he just couldn't stand it anymore! Just as Archer moved to snip the next suture, Roach jerked back, causing him to accidentally give him a shallow cut with the sharp scissors. Roach yelped in surprise and pain when he felt something cut his leg, right next to the remaining stitches.

"Damn it Roach! You weren't supposed to move!" Archer yelled, quickly grabbing some bandages and putting pressure on the cut.

Roach shoved at Ghost and tried to sit up, but he pinned him to the table. It didn't take long for the cut to stop bleeding, then Archer cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. Roach winced and tried to get Ghost to let him go.

"Let go of me!" He cried, frantically trying to sit up and see how bad it was.

"Roach stop! It's okay, it's not that bad!"

"It hurts!"

"That's just because it's shallow." Archer explained as he quickly wrapped a bandage around his leg to protect the cut.

He picked up the scissors and cleaned the blood from them. Then he sat back down and continued removing the stitches, but he always kept one hand on Roach's leg to make sure he didn't move again. Roach whined and squirmed uncomfortably, still trying to escape the strong hold Ghost had on him.

"I'm sorry Roach, but we have to finish getting these out. There's only a few more, it won't take long if you sit still." Ghost said.

Roach whined and fussed, but Archer worked quickly and it only took him a few minutes to finish.

"Alright, I'm done. Roach you're allowed to walk, but no running or doing anything that could potentially reopen the wound." Archer said as he started cleaning things up.

Ghost let go of him and Roach quickly left the room without a word. Ghost sighed and helped Archer clean up.

* * *

 **A/N: Yay, so much drama and angst! Yayayayayayayayayay...**


	19. Chapter 19

Roach stormed into the rec room, looking stressed. He was limping badly, but considering how severe his injury was, it didn't really surprise anyone. They were surprised to see him walking though. Most of them knew he was supposed to get his stitches removed today, but they didn't know when. He sat down on the couch and didn't move, seemingly deep in thought.

"Did you get your stitches removed?" Soap asked.

Roach didn't move.

"Roach?"

Price looked at Soap, silently asking if he knew what was wrong. Soap just shrugged. Roach didn't even acknowledge their presence.

"What's wrong?" He tried again.

He still didn't respond. They made several other attempts at having a conversation, but he just sat there. After a few minutes, they gave up. Roach was thinking about all the meds he had to take. That was getting on his nerves. He was tired of waking up every day only to have meds shoved down his throat. The Alprazolam hadn't helped with his anxiety issues at all. He believed John was still out there and no medicine was _ever_ going to help with that. He didn't see the point in taking the pain meds anymore, his leg ached sometimes but it wasn't that bad, he didn't have any more stitches in, his ribs were slowly getting better, his broken arm didn't hurt that much if he didn't move it, and most of his cuts and scrapes had already healed up, except for the one he just got from Archer.

 _I'm done._

Most of the Ghosts were in the rec room too, but Merrick, Riley, and Keegan were asleep. Hesh and Logan were talking and Kick was playing Black Ops II. Toad was off somewhere doing God knows what. After about twenty minutes, Ghost came in looking for someone. He glanced around the room and his eyes landed on Roach.

"Roach! What are you doing in here?" He asked, jogging over and sitting down beside him.

Roach didn't respond. Ghost waved a hand in front of his face and he jumped.

"Ah! ...W-what was that for?"

Ghost peered closely at him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, why?"

Ghost studied him suspiciously and he leaned back, clearly uncomfortable.

"No... something's wrong. Tell me."

Roach glared at him.

"Oh, I get it. You're mad at me aren't you? Well you can be mad all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that those stitches had to come out." Ghost said, crossing his arms.

"No. I'm not mad at you."

"Who are you mad at then?"

"No one."

"You're definitely mad at someone. I can see it all over your face."

"I'm not mad at anyone, okay?" Roach snapped.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot. Archer wants to see you."

"Hell no. I'm not in the mood."

"But you have to! He sent me to come get you."

"Have fun trying, you'll be dead by the time you're done."

"Why are you so mean? C'mon seriously, Archer needs you." Ghost said, pulling on his arm (obviously not his broken one) to try and get him to stand up.

"To what? Be his lab rat?"

"No. He probably just wants you to take your meds."

"Now I'm definitely not going." Roach said stubbornly, still refusing to get up.

Ghost looked to Price and Soap for help, but they were laughing.

"You're on your own, Ghost." Soap grinned.

"Fine. If you won't go see Archer, I'll bring him here."

Ghost left the room to go get Archer, and Roach flipped him off. He was back a few minutes later with Archer, who was carrying two small cups.

 _Well what do you know. More meds to take._

"Roach! Take your meds." Archer said, offering him the cups.

"No."

Archer seemed shocked, he definitely wasn't expecting to get 'no' for an answer. The Ghosts left the room. Ghost and the two captains sat there watching, wondering what was gonna go down.

"Roach, we've been over this. You know you have to take your meds or you won't get better."

"Neither of those are helping me get better, therefore I don't see the point of taking them."

"They _are_ helping you get be better, so you have to take them."

"Nope."

"Why don't you want to?" Archer asked, putting the cups down and crossing his arms.

"Because they're annoying. The Alprazolam makes me dizzy and it's not helping at all. I don't need the pain meds anymore either."

"Why don't you need the pain meds?"

"Because I'm fine. You worry so much you might as well be my mother."

"You're not fine! Two weeks ago you were almost dead!"

Roach looked down at the floor and Archer immediately regretted saying that.

"Roach, I'm-"

"Don't apologize."

"But-"

"Don't. I'm not taking the meds anymore, we're done with this conversation." He said, getting up to leave.

Archer stood there looking defeated. The rest of them just watched as he left, no one dared to try and stop him. As soon as he was gone, Archer left too, heading in the opposite direction. Ghost sat down with a heavy sigh. He was sad that Roach was upset now, but he needed to talk to Price and MacTavish about what was said the other night.

* * *

Roach limped down the hallway as quickly as he could with his leg still healing. He couldn't believe Archer had said that. I mean, it was true but he didn't need to be so harsh. He wished that he and Archer could get along. They usually did but when he got injured, they were both more stressed and there was a lot of tension between them, which caused way more frequent fights and arguments. He didn't like arguing with him but when it came to stuff like this, the only way to get what he wanted was to argue until Archer agreed or, in this case, gave up. It didn't always work, but there wasn't much else he could do.

It was so frustrating! He knew Archer only acted the way he did because he was worried about him. Hell, they all were. But he needed to back off. The nightmares and flashbacks made life very difficult, but Archer bothering him all day every day just added to the list of things that made his life hard. Not to mention it stressed him out more. He was sure that his father would be plotting how to get him back by now and that meant he didn't have long. He just hoped John would be too much of a dumbass to figure out where he was. It still scared him though. He had very mixed and confused feelings when it came to John. Fear and hate battled constantly in his mind, but neither ever won. He was terrified of John, but at the same time, he hated him so much it was unimaginable.

He sighed as he wandered aimlessly through the halls. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't give a shit right now. He just felt like being alone...

After a while of wandering around the base, he decided to go take a shower and started searching for a bathroom.

1 Hour Later...

Ghost sat on the couch in the rec room, hanging out with the Ghosts and the rest of the 141. He told Price and MacTavish about Roach and the flashbacks. They felt bad for him but there wasn't much they could do. No one else knew about them besides Ghost, Price, and MacTavish. Roach would be really pissed at him if he knew that he told them, but _someone_ else needed to know. He couldn't be the only person to know about it, that would be very difficult to deal with. He ran a hand through his short hair and sighed, wishing life wasn't so damn complicated.

Archer walked in with a plate of food.

"Has anyone seen Roach?"

"No, why?" Ghost asked.

"He needs to eat his dinner."

"Just leave it here, he's gotta come back sometime." Kick said with a grin.

"Do any of you know where he went?"

"No, he's probably just pacing around a room somewhere. He does that when he's mad. I think you should leave him be, though. If you try to talk to him right now, he's probably gonna knock you on your ass. You saw how angry he was earlier, its been a while but we both know he's still gonna be pissed at you." Toad said.

Archer was about to reply, but Roach walked in and beat him to it.

"Toad is actually right for once. I'm still pissed."

He walked past him and sat on the couch. As usual, he laid down and put his feet in Ghost's lap.

"Where have you been?"

"Well mom, it's a wonderful story. I walked around for a while. Then I took a shower. Isn't my life fascinating?" He said sarcastically.

Some of the Ghosts laughed, but stopped when Archer shot them a murderous glare.

"Don't call me mom."

"Why not? You act like one."

"Because I'm not! You didn't get your cast wet, did you?" Archer asked.

"No, of course not. I'm not a dumbass."

"That's good to know. You need to eat your dinner." He said, gesturing to the plate of food.

"Did you know that food tastes like shit when there's meds in it?" Roach mused.

"There's none in this."

"Eat some, then I might believe you."

Archer hesitated and Roach automatically knew he was lying.

"Nice try, but I wasn't hungry anyways."

"Oh, come on Roach! You lost like fifty pounds! You need to eat!"

"I'll eat when you get me food that isn't filled with meds, and that includes sedatives."

Archer looked at him like he grew a third eye.

"Oh, come on Archer. You may think I'm just some stupid teenager, but I know you better than you think. You don't give up as easily as you did earlier. Ever."

"What are you talking about?"

"I've already told you I'm not a dumbass. Don't try to lie to me."

"I really _don't_ know what you're talking about."

"And you're really trying my patience. I need to teach you how to lie, your posture's all wrong."

"My posture?"

"Yes, your posture. Now go get me some real food while the offer's still available." Roach said, making shooing motions with his hands.

Archer grumbled and left the room with the plate of food.

"...Doesn't even know how to lie correctly." Roach mumbled, shaking his head.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, the ending of this chapter was a bit rushed. But I couldn't think of anything else to do... sorry... Please review! I love reviews!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hi! So, where did everyone go? No-one has reviewed on the last two chapters. I'm sad! I need ideas! PM me! GIVE ME IDEAS! AND REVIEW! ...please?**

 **Story stuff: Okay, so just to clarify- when I say Roach is sitting on the couch, I mean he's laying down with his feet in Ghost's lap. That's how they sit... cause they're close friends... I think you get the point. Also, Isoflurane is a type of anesthetic (it knocks you out) that you inhale. So... I just wanted you guys to know what it was because I'm gonna use it later in the story and I don't want anyone to get confused. :)**

* * *

John and three of his most trusted men sat on the ridge overlooking the Ghosts' base. He didn't need many men to come with him because he didn't plan on advertising the fact that he was here. He would have to make sure Gary was _actually_ here, though. This would be the most logical place for him to go, especially with the severity of his injuries, but he wasn't positive that he would be here.

There were ten guards securing the perimeter. The plan was he and his men would watch the guards to see when their shifts started and ended. Then he would choose a guard and kill him towards the end of his shift, hide the body and put his uniform on. Dan (one of John's men) would do the same. His other two men were on overwatch. Then he would wait to be relieved from his shift and go into the base to look around for a while and confirm that Gary was there. Dan would gather info on anything useful he could find in the base. If Gary was there, John would figure out which room he was in and slip Isoflurane gas into the room, then lock the door. That would knock him out for at least an hour. Then he would have to figure out how to sneak him off base without being seen. That would be the hardest part. But, one of his men could create a diversion while the other two secured an evac and helped him get Gary to the helicopter. That's probably what he would have to do.

They sat there watching the guards for two hours, then the shifts changed.

 _So, they switch every two hours..._ John noted.

They watched them for another hour. Then John started to get ready. He checked to make sure his silenced AK-47 was loaded and he had extra mags. He also made sure he had all of his knives. Dan did the same. He went over the plan with his men one last time to make sure they understood everything. As usual, they knew what they were doing. He nodded and said goodbye to each of them before heading toward the base, Dan following close behind.

* * *

Roach lay on the couch, his feet in Ghost's lap. (A/N: See what I mean.) He was still waiting for Archer to come back with his food. He was taking a suspiciously long time to finish...

Suddenly Archer walked in with a tray of food and a glass of water.

 _Huh... that was weird..._

He set them down on the table.

"Are you happy now?" He asked heatedly.

"I will be if you wear a maid outfit and clean my room."

"That will _never_ happen."

"What if I said please and made puppy dog eyes?"

"No."

"You're so rude." Roach sighed as he sat up and reached for the water.

He sniffed it, trying to tell if there was drugs in it, but it didn't have a scent. There was no discoloration either. He shrugged and took a small sip. He immediately spat it out. Water went everywhere. That was fucking disgusting.

"Roach! Why the hell did you do that?!" Ghost yelled as water got all over him.

Roach wasn't paying any attention to him though. He was too busy glaring at Archer.

"Really? You really put drugs in my damn water?!"

"Eh, I thought it would work. Apparently I was wrong."

"Eww! What the fuck did you put in there?" Roach asked, making a face.

"Sedatives. But obviously you're not going to drink it, so don't blame me when you don't get any sleep tonight."

"Psshhhh! I'll show you! I'm gonna get more sleep than you _ever_ did, so shut up and quit underestimating me."

"Hah, I'll believe it when I see it. For now you should eat something, though."

"Nah, I'm good."

Archer sighed heavily.

"He's not going to eat anything now, is he?" He asked Ghost.

"Nope." Roach and Ghost chorused.

Some of the Ghosts laughed in amusement. It was interesting how close those two were. They all knew that when you were in a Task Force, you had to trust others to watch your back. Everyone depended on each other which brought them all close, almost like a family, but they didn't usually get as close as Roach and Ghost were. It was nice to see that Roach had someone who understood him, though. He always seemed happy when Ghost was around and they got along so well together. Sometimes it was almost like they knew each other's thoughts.

Roach suddenly felt a shift in the room. He looked up and his breath caught in his throat. He felt the blood drain from his face as he looked at the dead members of the 141. He desperately wanted to leave the room but he was too terrified to move.

"What's wrong Roach?" Ghost asked, seeing him get really pale.

Roach looked up at him and yelped in surprise when he saw him. There were multiple bullet wounds in his chest, all of which had maggots crawling in and out of them. Blood was everywhere and about half of his ribs were visible because the bugs that were all over him sped up the decomposition process. It was horrifying. Roach literally launched himself from Ghost's lap and bolted out of the room.

He heard several yells behind him, telling him to come back, but he didn't care. He needed to be away from everyone for a while. He needed time to think about this and how to get it to stop. He ran through the hallways, ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg. He could make out loud footsteps echoing through the halls behind him. He ran until he couldn't hear them anymore. By the time he stopped he was breathing in short, ragged gasps that set his ribs aflame.

He groaned and leaned against the wall, sliding down it until he hit the floor. Why wouldn't those stupid memories just go away? Tears flooded his eyes. He just wanted to forget everything that happened. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, it didn't make a difference. Everything was still the same. Horrible memories still plagued his mind and he could do nothing to stop them. Nothing helped, nothing stopped it. The tears overflowed and trickled down his cheeks. The picture of his dead teammates flashed through his mind and he couldn't get it to go away. He cried harder and whimpered as more awful memories flooded his mind. He didn't know how long he sat there crying. Maybe half an hour, maybe an hour. He didn't care. He couldn't stop, either. His breathing rapidly increased and he felt like he couldn't breathe. His vision blurred and suddenly the dark hallway seemed far away. Darkness slowly took over and after a few minutes he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

"Where the hell did he go?" Ghost asked, frustrated they hadn't found Roach yet.

"We'll find him, don't worry."

They turned around another corner. Originally, MacTavish and Price were with them, but they had split up in an effort to find Roach faster. Ghost and Archer were searching the halls to the left, Price and MacTavish took the right. None of them knew why Roach bolted from the room, but it worried them. Ghost had a suspicion that it was because of the flashbacks, but he couldn't be sure until they found him.

He sighed heavily as they turned another sharp corner, but froze at what he saw. Archer ran down the hall and dropped to the floor beside Roach, hands immediately searching for a pulse. He was relieved when he found one. Ghost sat down beside him, looking intently at Roach.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Gimme a minute."

He gently shook Roach's shoulders, trying to wake him up.

"Roach, wake up. Roach..."

His head lolled to the side, but other than that he didn't move. Archer shook his head and muttered a few things to himself. Then he slid his arm under Roach's legs, the other supporting his back. He lifted him a couple feet off the ground and watched to see if he would react, but he didn't tense up at all, which is what he usually would've done. Archer took that as a good sign and was about to stand up fully, but Ghost put a hand out to stop him.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"If he's gonna wake up, then now would be the time to do it. Besides, he's out cold. He doesn't give a shit, look at him."

Ghost looked at him uncertainly, then came to a decision. He put his arms out.

"Give him to me."

Archer made a face.

"Why?"

"Because the last time you carried him you dropped him and he got a concussion." He said, gesturing to the black eye that Roach still had. It wasn't nearly as noticeable as before, but you could definitely tell it was there.

"Good point." He said, carefully handing Roach to him.

They quickly left for the infirmary, meeting Price and MacTavish on the way there.

* * *

 **A/N: You guys better be nice to me, I was thinking about ending this chapter when they found Roach... But I was merciful and I didn't. Don't make me regret my decision by NOT reviewing. (That means you should review...)**

 **OH I TOTALLY FORGOT! MyLittleRobin helps me ALOT with ideas and stuffs! She/ he gets credit for helping me with the next few chapters...**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Heelllloooo... I'm so happy, I got reviews! Thanks guys! Oh, and big thanks to MyLittleRobin! She/ he helps me with ideas all the time! Yay! ;D**

* * *

Archer laid Roach down on one of the empty beds. Then he got a syringe and gave him his pain meds. The Alprazolam was a pill and even though Roach was unconscious, he didn't dare try to give it to him. He knew from experience that Roach wasn't afraid bite him if he tried to make him take something he didn't want to. He would make him take it when he woke up. Roach had very obviously gotten worse since he stopped taking the meds and he needed them. He was just too stubborn to admit that they were helping.

About an hour later Roach woke up. Archer tried and failed to get him to take the Alprazolam. Roach also refused to tell them why they found him unconscious in the hallway, he kept changing the subject. He wouldn't eat or drink anything, simply stating that he wasn't hungry. Eventually they all left and went to the rec room, Ghost and Roach choosing to sit together as usual. Hesh and Riley were sitting together in a chair, Logan right beside them. Merrick, Kick, Keegan, and both captains (Price and MacTavish) were training in the other side of the base. Everything was relatively peaceful... until Archer got pissed.

Archer sat there staring at Roach, who had fallen asleep in Ghost's lap. He _knew_ Roach could get better if he took his meds, but he refused. He also wouldn't eat anything. He didn't put forth any effort to take care of himself. It was almost like he didn't _want_ to get better. He had been very lenient thus far, but Roach never listened to him and it was really getting on his nerves. He wanted Roach to get better. He really did. It was his responsibility as a medic to make sure he healed up, but that was a very hard thing to do when your patient was a stubborn bastard who never listened to you. Roach was never going to get better if he kept refusing to eat and take his meds. He decided it was time Roach did as he was told. He was about to get up to go get Roach's meds when someone who he assumed was a perimeter guard entered the room. A bad feeling crept into his stomach when the man's dark eyes landed on Roach and stayed there.

"Can I help you with something?" Hesh asked politely.

A few days ago they had gotten a fresh batch of perimeter guards. Some of them still didn't know their way around the base yet and asked for help sometimes.

"Yes please, I was wondering where the..."

Roach heard a frighteningly familiar voice and opened his eyes a crack. What he saw made him think he was dreaming because it was impossible. He laughed slightly, thinking of just _how_ impossible it was. There was no way John had found him and was here. That was just ridiculous. He opened his eyes more and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. Wait... this didn't look like a dream. He would know John's face anywhere and that was _definitely_ him. He pinched his arm until he knew it was gonna bruise. This wasn't a dream. Oh shit.

His first instinct was to get as far away from here as possible. But then he thought about everything John had done. Everything he did to ruin his life. All of the scars, mental and physical, that he had received from him. Why should he have to deal with this bastard's shit? John had already ruined his life and now he had the nerve to try and do more?! There was no way in hell he was just gonna sit on his ass and let that happen.

He leapt from the couch and pulled his knife from his pocket and held it by the tip of the blade. He pulled his left arm back and aimed for John's heart. His arm moved forward at lightning fast speed, but before he released the knife someone collided with his arm, screwing up his aim. The knife flew across the room and just barely grazed John's arm before burying itself in the wall behind him. God, that bastard was lucky.

Ghost grabbed Roach's arm and tried to pull it back behind him, but Roach was flexible enough to move with it and used his momentum against him, elbowing him in the ribs. Ghost groaned in pain and let go of him. Roach felt him let go and ran toward John and kicked him hard in the groin when he got close enough. John doubled over and he moved in for another kick, but John sidestepped just in time, narrowly avoiding him. Roach didn't expect him to recover that quickly and was slightly caught off guard when he moved. John took the opportunity and punched him in the nose.

He heard a pop and blood splattered all over his hand and ran down Roach's face, but it didn't faze him. He nimbly dodged John's next punch and threw all of his weight forward, efficiently knocking him to the floor. He pinned him down, his knees on either side of his abdomen, then he started punching him as hard as he could. He only got a couple punches in before he felt several pairs of hands grab his arms and forcefully drag him away from John. He fought against them, but wasn't strong enough to fight them all off. Then there was a pinprick in his neck and suddenly he felt extremely tired. The last thing he saw before the darkness took over was Hesh helping John up.

* * *

Archer quickly looked Roach over for injuries, other than the obvious ones on his face. That's when he saw the blood on his leg. Oh shit! He pulled a knife from his pocket and cut Roach's pants at the knee, then ripped them open further so he could see the damage. He almost laughed in relief when he saw that the small cut on Roach's leg had reopened and not the bad injury he had received during the time that he was captured. But he had still come _way_ too close to reopening his worse injury. And he had also just attacked a completely innocent person. He was mentally unstable and that scared him. How long would if be before he attacked someone else? Archer refused to let him hurt anyone else or himself. The only way to prevent that was to lock him up, but if that's what it took, then he was willing to do so.

Roach's nose was still bleeding, so he pinched the bridge of it and tilted his head up so the bleeding would stop. After a few minutes, it stopped and he picked Roach up and brought him to the infirmary. He couldn't believe he had just attacked someone for no reason. Roach would usually never do something like that, but he currently wasn't in his right mind. He didn't know how the hell he got his knife back. Roach _knew_ he wasn't supposed to have any weapons, but they were all aware of how uncomfortable he was without one. He must've taken it. Archer knew that was gonna happen eventually, he just didn't think Roach was going to try to kill someone with it.

He laid Roach down on one of the beds with restraints and secured his wrists and ankles in them. Then he made sure that his broken right arm was in a position where it wouldn't hurt him. He felt a little bad for locking him up like this, but he didn't want him to reopen the wound in his leg. If he did, there was about an 80% chance that he wouldn't be able to walk again. Archer didn't like those odds. He also didn't want Roach hurting anyone else. He sighed and went to go get the supplies he would need to clean him up.

He grabbed some gauze and a wash cloth, then he pulled a chair up beside the bed and started to gently clean the blood off Roach's face. It was all over the bottom part of his face and neck, some even reaching his chest. Archer was mostly done cleaning him up when everyone else ran into the room.

"Is Roach okay?"

"What happened?"

"How did he get a-"

No one could say anything else before Archer leapt from his chair and literally shoved everyone out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Shut up! I swear to God if you wake him up I will murder you with an axe!" He said harshly.

Everyone went quiet, some of them paling slightly.

He took a deep breath before saying, "I'm almost done fixing him up, I just have to set his nose. Go to the rec room and I'll be there in a few minutes. You can see him later."

Then he went back into the room and shut the door.

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 **A/N: Oopsies... I left you on a cliffhanger... Haha, looks like you'll have to review if you want any more chapters. Stuff is going to get really interesting soon. REVIEW! :D**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hello guys! Yay! It's gonna get real angsty here soon... Okay, so trust me when I say- shit's about to go DOWN. That's all the hints I'm giving... hahaha**

 ***MyLittleRobin is an awesome person! She helps me with ideas ALL THE TIME...***

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Archer took his time fixing Roach up. It took him about ten minutes to set his nose and make sure it was set correctly. Then he looked him over one last time and made sure he wasn't going to wake up for at least a few more hours before he went to the rec room. He walked slowly through the winding hallways leading to the rec room and when he got there, all eyes were on him. He nervously ran a hand through his hair and walked across the room- to the knife still embedded in the wall. It was buried almost to the hilt, a couple inches separating the hilt from the wall. Everyone else seemed to have forgotten about it in their hurry to see if Roach was okay. He grabbed the hilt and pulled on it until it came loose. Then he looked at the blade and saw the thin line of blood. He turned to Ghost.

"Did he hit him?" He asked, holding up the knife.

"He just barely grazed his arm."

"Is anyone ever gonna tell us what happened or are we just going to sit here?" Soap asked impatiently.

Archer sighed and set Roach's knife down on the table.

"Roach got in a fight with one of the perimeter guards. I don't know why, though. The poor guy didn't even do anything wrong and Roach jumped off the couch and threw his knife at him- which, by the way- I have no idea how he even had in the first place."

The two captains exchanged puzzled glances.

"That makes no sense. The guy had to have done _something._ Roach doesn't just attack people for no reason." Price said.

"He usually doesn't, but this time he did. The only reason Roach is hurt is because the guy was defending himself."

"How bad is it?"

"Not very. He broke his nose and reopened a small cut in his leg, he also has a few bruises but besides that he's fine."

Archer looked at Ghost. He noticed when he came in that Ghost was holding his ribs and he was worried that Roach might've broken one of them.

"He hit you too, didn't he?"

"No," He grunted, "I'm fine."

Archer crossed his arms and shot him a glare.

"Is that right? Prove it."

 _Leave me the fuck alone._ Ghost thought, starting to get annoyed.

Ghost didn't reply, instead he just glared back at him.

"Let me see." Archer said, gesturing to the hand that covered his ribs.

Price was curious to see if Roach had actually hit Ghost and he also wanted to stop this argument before it turned into an actual fight.

"Show him, Ghost." He ordered.

 _Damn it._

Ghost glared at him, but hesitantly obeyed the command after a few minutes. He slowly lifted his shirt to reveal dark black and purple bruises that ran all the way across his side. The whole area was swollen and had a reddish tinge to it. His breathing was also a lot shallower than it should've been.

"Shit." Archer said, stepping forward to examine it closer up and see how many ribs were broken, although it looked like only one.

"Did Roach really do that?" Soap asked, clearly unconvinced.

Ghost just nodded, as he didn't really feel like talking right then.

"What did he do?"

"Ghost tried to grab Roach before he threw the knife and that screwed up his aim, saving the man's life. But when he went to pull his arm back, Roach shoved it back at the same time, elbowing him hard in the ribs." Archer explained.

"When will Roach wake up?"

"In about... two or three hours," He said as he pulled Ghost up from the couch, "Let's go, I need to wrap those ribs and get some pain meds in ya."

They left, heading for the infirmary.

Soon Hesh and Logan came back, the man in tow. His face was all bruised up and he had a busted lip. There was a bandage on his arm from the knife Roach had thrown. They had been in Logan's room fixing him up, seems on how Roach was in the infirmary. They didn't want those two anywhere near each other, even if one of them was unconscious. They sat down on the couch, Price and MacTavish studying the man they had brought with them.

"And who might you be?" Price asked idly.

The man looked at him with eyes that reminded him of Roach's eyes. They were like a milk chocolate brown. That was weird, though. They were literally _just like_ Roach's...

"M-Mark Thompson, sir." He said politely.

"He's one of the new recruits from last week." Keegan supplied.

"Did you fight with Roach?" Soap asked bluntly, wanting to hear him say it before he confirmed anything.

"Yes sir, but it was only self defense on my part."

The two captains looked at Hesh, who discreetly nodded. Mark was telling the truth.

"What do you suppose we should do about it, then?"

 _That_ caught John's attention. He hadn't expected them to give him a choice in what Roach's punishment should be. He wanted to jump around the room with happiness, but he kept his cool and pretended to not know what he meant.

"What do you mean?" He asked, putting on a confused expression.

Soap sighed.

"Since he hit you first, you get dibs on deciding what his punishment should be." He said slowly.

 _Oh, this was just too easy. None of them knew who he was, except Gary, but they think he's delusional! This is gonna be fun._

He wanted to make Gary suffer, but he had to stay in character. He was acting shy, as a new perimeter guard would. If all of the sudden he started acting cruel and mean like his usual self, then people would get suspicious. He would be sure to make Gary pay for this when he got him back.

"Oh... well... I would just like an apology." He said shyly, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"Fine. Just make sure you stay away from Roach for now."

John nodded and quickly left the room. He was immensely relieved that his plan was working out. Granted, getting into a fight with Gary hadn't been part of it, but it had worked out for the better. He knew that technically, he wasn't supposed to, but he couldn't resist going to see what had become of Gary. He hadn't seen him anywhere ever since the fight.

 _Well... I broke his nose, so I guess he'll be in the infirmary._

It was just a prediction, but it proved true when he found the infirmary. Most of the doors were unlocked, but one of them was shut and locked. It made him wonder if Gary was in there... He put an ear to the door and listened keenly for a few minutes to make sure no one was in there, then quickly picked the lock and walked in. He smiled in delight when he saw Gary. He was tied down to a bed with restraints.

 _He'll probably freak out when he wakes up._ John thought, amused at the idea.

He knew that Gary hated being tied down, it always scared the shit out of him, no matter where he was. Even if he was in a place that he knew was absolutely safe, but he was tied down, he still freaked out. He had expected Gary to wake up when he entered the room, but he didn't even move. Then he thought about how one if his teammates had given him a shot of something earlier- probably a sedative. Apparently Gary was still sleeping it off. John's eyes moved to his nose, which was swollen slightly and bruised up. He smirked when he remembered he had broken it.

 _Serves him right._

It was very tempting to do something to Gary while he was sleeping, tied up like this. He would be completely helpless. But if he hurt him, it would blow his cover. John really wanted to just grab him and leave right now, but mostly everyone was still awake and roaming the halls. Despite his amazing stealth skills, he would never be able to sneak past them carrying an unconscious Gary. That would be practically impossible. Plus he didn't know how long it would be before the sedative wore off. If he took Gary and he woke up, he would yell and get everyone's attention so he couldn't leave with him- which would be extremely embarrassing... and they would probably shoot him. So, in the end, he decided it was best to leave him alone for now.

He stayed for a few more minutes but when he heard talking coming from down the hall, he knew it was time to go. He hurriedly left the room, locking the door behind him and lightly running out of the infirmary. He looked at his watch. He was right on schedule. It was time for him to go meet up with Dan in the cafeteria. He was fairly sure that no one would be in there at this hour. It took him less than five minutes to reach the cafeteria, and as he had guessed, no one was in there. Except Dan, whom he failed to notice was sitting at a table in the far corner of the room.

"Hello sir." Dan said.

John gasped, just noticing Dan's presence.

"Damn it Dan! You scared the shit out of me!" He whispered heatedly.

"I'm sorry, I thought you knew I was here," He chuckled, "You know I'm never late to meetings."

John sighed and sat down beside him. He glanced around the room and listened to make sure no one else was here before he started the conversation.

"So, did you find anything interesting?"

"Not much, but I did notice that Gary was rather... close to one of the other members of the 141. I believe his name was... Ghost..?"

"Yes, I noticed that too. When I came into the rec room, Gary was asleep in his lap. Maybe we can capture them both. If I get the chance, I definitely will. If they're close, that means we'll have leverage."

Dan nodded and studied his face.

"Did you get hit?"

"Gary recognized me and started a fight. I broke his nose." He grinned.

"Really? If anything, I thought he would've run away. We both know how scared he is of you. What happened?"

"Several other people got him off me and knocked him out with a sedative. He's tied to a bed with restraints in the infirmary right now, still sleeping off the sedatives as far as I know."

"Damn, this is fun."

"No one else knows anything about who we are besides him, and- this is the best part- they think he's _delusional."_

Dan burst out laughing and had to cover his mouth to smother his giggles so he wouldn't be heard. Now _that_ was funny. Of all the things he thought were going to happen on this mission, he never once thought that something like _this_ would happen. Before he left base, he wondered if this mission would be boring- he was dead wrong. This was by far the most amusing thing he had ever heard of. This made everything really easy. Gary was tied down to a bed, so all they had to do was knock everyone else out and simply grab Gary and go. This was gonna be a more fun than difficult, that was for sure. When Dan had sobered, they discussed some other minor details before going to bed for the night.

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 **A/N: Yay! I'm so proud of myself! This chapter was pretty long! PLEASE REVIEW IT MAKES ME HAPPY.**

 ***whispery voice***

 **...Hey... Roach is gonna wake up in the next chapter... so if you wanna read that chapter... I suggest you review...**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hello! I'm sorry guys! I've been busy with school and some... family issues... but now I'm back! Yay! WARNING: SOON THINGS ARE GONNA GET REAL ANGSTY SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE TRUCKLOADS OF ANGST THEN I SUGGEST YOU DON'T READ THIS STORY... OR ANY OF MY OTHER STORIES FOR THAT MATTER... EXCEPT FOR MAYBE THE PARODIES... THOSE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY ANGST...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse! She is amazing! :) ***

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Roach slowly began to wake up. It was weird. He didn't remember going to sleep, but he guessed he had just fallen asleep in Ghost's lap again. He did that pretty often nowadays. He had a headache and his head pounded loudly in his ears. His nose felt... odd... it ached. It felt similar to when he broke it in 8th grade. He used to get into a lot of fights at school. He opened his eyes and looked around the room. As he had predicted, it was his room. The lights were off and the door was shut.

 _They must've brought me back to my room after I fell asleep._

Then something occurred to him. He would have noticed if someone picked him up, even if he was sleeping. He tried to sit up and his heart leapt into his throat when he realized he couldn't. His eyes shot down to his wrists and farther down, to his ankles. In the dim light of the room, he could make out restraints that secured his wrists and ankles firmly to the bed. He tugged at them and they barely moved. Getting out of handcuffs was as easy as breathing for Roach, but he had never been able to get out of restraints. That's exactly why he hated them so much.

He was busy trying to get out of the restraints, then it hit him like a wall. John. He was here. On base. And no one else knew about him. Small snippets of the fight came back to him and he panicked. What if John was out there right now killing all of his friends? What if they were already dead? He desperately pulled at the restraints but the fact that his dominant arm was still broken and in a cast didn't help at all.

After several minutes of thrashing his wrists started to bleed but he didn't even notice, much less care. His only goal was getting out and saving his friends from John. He was panting and sweating with the effort of trying to get out. Soon his left wrist (his right wrist is still covered by the cast) was slick with blood and he stopped fighting, finally realizing it was pointless. He started to cry when the flashbacks returned.

 _Gary was once again with John, tied to a table in a large room full of torture weapons. Although this wasn't like the usual routine. Normally, John would pick a weapon and start interrogating. But now he was just sitting in a metal chair, staring intently at Gary. His face was completely expressionless so Gary had no clue what was on his mind. After what was by far the longest ten minutes of Gary's life, John spoke._

 _"I was thinking about what I should do with you today. I got bored of the usual routine, so I figured we'd try something new."_

 _He didn't like the sound of that at all._

 _"Your brother... Charlie. We're gonna talk about him, seems on how you loved him so much." He grinned._

 _Gary's stomach lurched at the mere thought of it. He didn't want to talk about Charlie. Not ever._

 _John got up and strolled over to the table where Gary lay. Without warning he hopped up onto the table and straddled his hips, smirking when Gary gasped in surprise. He hadn't expected him to do that. John leaned forward over his torso, his elbows resting on either side of Gary's head._

 _"He screamed when I stabbed him, you know. He cried and screamed for you, waiting for big brother to come and save him. But that never happened, did it?" He sighed, tracing random patterns on Gary's bare chest._

 _Gary shivered and tugged at the steel chains securing him to the cold metal table. Tears welled in his eyes but he refused to let them fall. He wanted to scream at John for ruining his life and killing his baby brother. He wanted to murder him slowly and cruelly, just as he had probably done to Charlie. And by God he would if the chance ever arose._

 _John fished around in his pocket for a moment, then held up a picture._

 _"You remember this one?"_

 _The picture was a copy of the one he had found on the table the night Charlie was murdered. It was Charlie crying with a knife in his chest and John sitting beside him smiling as if he had just won the lottery._

 _Gary whimpered loudly through the gag in his mouth. The tears fell and landed on the table with an uncharacteristically loud plink._

 _John leaned forward a bit more and whispered in his ear, "You killed him, Gary. And no amount of avoiding the subject and acting as if it never happened will change that. He is dead because of YOU."_

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Ghost sighed as he walked down the hall toward Roach's room. Archer had given him pain meds and wrapped his ribs, but he still felt kinda shitty. He knew Roach was fine, but for some reason he had a bad feeling. His gut was telling him something was wrong, and his gut had never been wrong before.

He knew Roach was in restraints and that only added to his worry. Roach _hated_ restraints and Ghost knew he would probably throw a fit when he woke up. So he was just going to go check on Roach to make sure he was alright. He quickened his pace as his unease grew.

He reached the infirmary a few minutes later and quickly searched for Roach's room. His eyes landed on it and he went to the door, pulling out the key for it as he went. As he neared the door he heard something. It almost sounded like crying.

He hurriedly unlocked the door and the sight that met his eyes tore his heart into a million pieces. Roach was laying on the bed sniffling and crying, his cheeks wet with tears. His left wrist was smeared with blood, as were both of his ankles and there was blood on the sheets as well.

Ghost turned on the light and ran to Roach's side, immediately grabbing his hand to show him he was there, but Roach didn't seem to notice his presence. And he was still crying. Ghost was _really_ worried now. He reached a hand up and patted Roach's cheek, wiping some of the tears away as he went.

"Roach, what's wrong? You're okay. Don't cry."

Roach flinched when he felt a hand on his face and moved as far away from him as his bonds would allow. This made Ghost really sad and confused. He didn't know how to deal with people who were freaked out, especially not when it was Roach. They were best friends and to see that Roach was scared of him tore him apart.

He thought about going to get Archer, but then he thought about what he would do. He would probably just sedate him and when Roach woke up, he would probably just freak out _again._ That wouldn't help anything, it would basically just be a repeat of the current situation.

"Shhh, Roach it's okay. Calm down, you're safe."

Roach still refused to look at him. Charlie's death replayed over and over again in his mind, getting bloodier and more horrifying each time. He couldn't make it stop. He thought he heard someone talking to him, but Charlie's screams of agony drowned it out. Maybe he was just imagining it.

"...Charlie... I-I'm so s-sorry..." He choked out between sobs.

Charlie? Who the hell was that? Ghost was now thoroughly confused. The only people in the room were him and Roach, so who was this Charlie person he was going on about? And why would Roach be sorry to him? He'd have to ask Roach about that later.

"Roach, look at me." He said, grabbing Roach's chin and turning it toward him.

Roach stared at him with sad brown eyes. It was really pitiful when Roach cried. His big brown eyes made him look like a character from an anime. A single tear slid over the bridge of his nose and he sniffled.

When he looked at Ghost, the image of his little brother's death disappeared, so he had calmed down a bit. He idly tugged at the restraints, still hating them with every fiber of his being. They sat silently for a few minutes, then Roach found his voice.

"W-when did you g-get here?" He asked, his voice wavering.

"Not long ago. You okay?" Ghost had decided not to talk about what he had just seen, knowing it would make Roach uncomfortable.

Roach shook his head. In truth he felt extremely vulnerable. He felt that because he was helpless, something bad was going to happen to him. He couldn't defend himself, not tied down like this. It made him very uneasy.

"Untie me." He demanded.

"Sorry man, I can't. You tried to kill a perimeter guard... for no reason. Why?"

Roach groaned, clearly frustrated at his lack of progress.

"He's not who he s-says he is."

"Oh really? Then who is he?" Ghost challenged.

Roach was quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say.

"A... a _really_ bad person! He's fucking evil! He's not even a _real_ perimeter guard!" Roach yelled, angrily tugging at the restraints.

Ghost reached over and covered his mouth.

"Shhh! Be quiet! It's like 3:00 in the morning, people are sleeping!"

Roach froze for a second, then bit his hand. Not that hard, but hard enough to draw blood. Ghost yelped in surprise and immediately recoiled, cradling a bloody finger.

"Owww...! Damn it Roach! Why would you do that?!" He whined as his ribs flared with pain because he had moved too fast.

"Well your hand shouldn't have been- what's wrong with you?"

Ghost curled in on himself, clutching at his ribs. It hurt to breathe.

"I thought I heard-" Archer stepped into the room and stopped mid-sentence when he saw Roach and Ghost.

"What the hell happened to you?!"

He went over to Ghost and grabbed his shoulder.

"Hey, look at me. Just breathe."

After a minute or so his breathing slowed a bit and Archer sent him to the rec room, saying he'd give him more pain meds and bandage his hand after he was done dealing with Roach. When Ghost was gone he turned to look at Roach. He saw the dried blood around his left wrist and ankles. He also noticed the tear stained cheeks, but didn't comment.

He sighed as he thought about how he was going to clean him up. He couldn't clean and bandage his wrist or ankles without undoing the restraints. He ran a hand through his hair and got a syringe ready. Roach needed sleep anyways, and he knew he wouldn't want to sleep on his own, not tied down like that.

He could already tell he was on edge as it was, so he decided to just sedate him for now and talk to him tomorrow. It was the middle of the night anyways, he should be asleep right now. Everyone else was. The only reason Archer was awake was because naturally, his room was by the infirmary so he could check on patients and get to them quickly if something was wrong. He was pulled from his thoughts when Roach spoke.

"Hey! W-what do you think you're doing?" He asked nervously, trying to sit up so he could see what Archer was doing.

"You need sleep. You look like shit."

He walked over to Roach and sat in the chair Ghost had vacated, bringing the syringe with him. Roach looked at it and frowned.

"I'm not tired." He protested as Archer rubbed his arm with an alcohol swab.

To be honest, he was too tired to do much else. But that didn't mean he liked the idea of being sedated... again...

"Well that's too bad, I'll see you in the morning."

He felt a prick in his arm and a few moments later a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He tried to fight it... but he was _sooo_ tired... maybe he would just close his eyes for a minute... The second he did, he fell asleep. Vaguely, he felt Archer start undoing the restraints, then he was gone.

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 **A/N: Hehehe... that was a long update, guys. So you better review! REVIEEEW! ;D**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hello everyone! I missed you all... I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while... I had to update my other story first because I try to alternate between them so that they both get updated fairly often. BUT NOW I'M BACK! Yay! :D**

 **MyLittleRobin is my wonderful muse!**

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Ghost woke up early the next morning, having not been able to sleep most of the night anyways. He laid in bed, thinking things over. He was worried about Roach. Roach didn't cry unless something was _really_ making him upset. And it took a lot to make him upset enough to cry. He was also curious about this... Charlie person. Who was he? What was his relation to Roach? He really wanted to get Roach out of those restraints. He knew how much his young friend hated them, and he felt bad for him. But he still wanted to know why Roach tried to kill an innocent person. The Roach he knew would never try to do something like that, but obviously he wasn't thinking straight. Maybe his being captured and tortured had a larger effect on him than they first thought.

Frustrated at his lack of understanding of the recent events, he got out of bed and got dressed. It took him a while longer than usual because of his broken rib and hurt hand, but after about 15 minutes he was ready. He slowly moved through the halls, opting to skip breakfast as the thought of food made him want to puke. Broken ribs were a pain- literally. Instead he went to the rec room. He was surprised to see several of the Ghosts already in there, along with Toad and Archer. He entered the room and unceremoniously plopped onto the couch, immediately feeling the emptiness of Roach's presence. He never realized how much time he spent with Roach- until he was gone. Well, technically not _gone_ but he certainly wasn't _here._

Archer saw him come in and quickly left the room. He wondered why for a moment, then decided that he didn't care. A few minutes after he left, the two captains came in, together as usual. They pulled two chairs up and sat down. Then captain Price noticed his bandaged right hand- from last night when Roach bit him.

"What happened to your hand?" He asked, nodding in his general direction.

He looked down at his hand then back at Price, wondering if he should even bother to try and make something up. He was saved from having to give an explanation when Archer rushed back into the room, med kit in hand. He rolled his eyes and shot him a glare. He knew this was going to happen. Archer was worried last night about his wound getting infected, but it wasn't even that big. Roach hadn't bitten him that hard, although it had taken a while to get the bleeding to stop. Archer mentioned something about there being a lot of harmful bacteria in the wound because of the fact that Roach had bit him. He always tended to make a fuss over the smallest things, which was good and bad- depending on the situation. In this case, it was just annoying. But at least he knew his friend cared about him. It'd be pretty bad if your team's medic didn't care about you. Archer sat down beside him and grabbed his injured hand, pulling it into his lap to clean the wound and change the bandages. He growled and pulled it back, shooting his friend an annoyed glare.

Archer crossed his arms and said, "Are you _really_ not gonna let me clean it? Do you want it to get infected and kill you?"

Ghost rolled his eyes.

"I thought we already established that I'm _not_ going to die?"

"You won't if I clean it so it doesn't get infected." He replied as he took his hand again and started unwrapping the bandages.

This time Ghost let him. He knew Archer was going to clean it at some point, even if he had to chase him around all day bugging him about it. Archer would do that, too. He was extremely stubborn when it came to making sure his patients were properly cared for, even if their injuries were only minor ones. As he finished unwrapping the bandages, Price walked over and stood beside the couch, looking at his hand.

"Are... are those _teeth_ _marks_? What the hell, Ghost?"

Ghost sighed. He didn't want to tell the captain what happened because it would probably just get Roach in more trouble than he already was. But Roach was already locked in a room, tied to his bed. What more could they do? He'd have to tell them what happened eventually, might as well get it over with.

"I went to see Roach last night because I had a bad feeling. When I got to his room, he was awake and he was pissed." He said, deciding to leave out the part where Roach was crying. He paused for a moment then continued, " His wrists and ankles were all torn up and he hadn't even been awake that long! There was blood all over the bed sheets! He kept yelling about that perimeter guard being a horrible person and not a _real_ perimeter guard. I tried to get him to shut up because it was the middle of the night and everyone was asleep... and he bit me..."

Price sighed. He knew Roach hated restraints, hell, all of them did. But he didn't want him killing innocent people, especially not the ones who patrolled the area everyday to make sure they were safe! Not to mention the fact that they weren't even on their base. It was the Ghosts' base and they needed to be careful. Even though they were close friends with the Ghost team, that didn't mean they could just go around killing off their guards. It was a miracle that the guard... Mark Thompson had survived. Roach was frighteningly accurate when it came to dealing with knives and most other weapons. If Ghost hadn't been there, Mark would have been dead and gone within seconds. But still, Price wasn't going to let Roach leave his room until he apologized to Mark and proved that he had his head screwed on straight. But he still had the uneasy feeling that there was something he had missed, some vital detail that could change everything in the span of a few seconds...

"He's fine now, though. I cleaned him up last night after I sent Ghost out." Archer said idly as he cleaned the wound on Ghost's hand with peroxide.

Ghost winced when his hand stung and reddish- white foam bubbled out of it. Archer applied the peroxide to it a few more times to make sure it was clean before wrapping it in fresh bandages.

"Okay, let me see how your broken rib is doing."

Ghost gave an annoyed sigh before taking his shirt off and allowing Archer to unwrap the bandages surrounding his abdomen. He applied different amounts of pressure in certain areas, asking if it hurt every once in a while.

At one point Ghost got tired of it and said, "Of course it hurts, dumbass! It's a broken rib, did you expect it to feel wonderful?"

Archer's only response was a one finger salute. He wrapped his ribs again, then watched him take some pain meds before he seemed satisfied that his patient would survive. He gathered up his medical supplies and left the room, presumably to put them away. Ghost sighed in relief as he watched Archer's departure. He liked the guy- just not when he was injured. But, on the other hand- he was a bitch to keep in the infirmary. Roach was the same way, that's why they were usually handcuffed to their beds when they woke up there. Roach could easily get out of them, if he had the energy to do so. Ghost didn't like being tied to anything, but was unable to get out of handcuffs because unlike Roach, he didn't have a collection of bobby pins in his hair. Not that any of them knew about Roach's collection. They knew he had a stash of them _somewhere_ , but none of them knew the exact location.

The events of last night drifted into his thoughts and he wondered if Roach was okay. What if he freaked out again? What if he tore up his wrists and hurt himself? His concern grew until he couldn't ignore it any longer. He got up and started toward the door, but a hand on his shoulder halted his progress.

"Where do you think you're going?" Soap's voice boomed behind him.

He turned to glance at him over his shoulder and said, "To make sure Roach hasn't killed himself trying to get out of those restraints."

Toad giggled at the way he had decided to make his thoughts known. A few of the Ghosts chuckled, but stopped when they realized he was serious.

Soap shook his head. "You need to leave him be for a while. He's probably asleep anyways. Remember? Archer said he sedated him and that was at like... what, 3:00 in the morning...? It hasn't even been 6 hours yet, he'll still be asleep if you go check on him now."

Ghost hesitated. He didn't really care if Roach was still asleep or not, he just wanted to make sure he was okay.

"We're going to see him later anyways, Ghost. You might as well wait until we all go." Price said from his chair.

"Why are you going to see him?"

"Well, I was a bit curious as to why he tried to kill an innocent person," He replied sarcastically. "I also need to get him to apologize to that guard... Mark, was it? He's not leaving that bed until he does."

"But he'll _never_ apologize. You know how stubborn he is. Do you plan on keeping him there forever, then?"

"Stubborn as he may be, he _will_ apologize, even if he has to stay in that bed for a month. Besides, he's hurt. Laying in a bed can't do him any harm."

"Yes it can. He's claustrophobic." Ghost pointed out.

"Being tied down doesn't bother his claustrophobia."

"But being in a locked room does. What if he has a panic attack? What are you gonna do then?"

"Technically, when he leaves that room is his decision. All he has to do is apologize, then he can leave."

Ghost snorted. "Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen."

"Are you _really_ going to defend him when he tried to kill an innocent person? A _guard_ , no less? I know you don't like having him locked up like this, hell, none of us do. But you need to start thinking logically. He tried to _kill_ someone, Ghost."

"Yeah, he did. But you lot are treating him like an insane criminal. He just got back from being captured and tortured. He probably had a flashback and thought he was killing someone else. I can understand why you locked him in a room, but aren't the restraints a little much?"

"He's only in restraints because if he's not, he'll pick the lock and get out! And if he doesn't have anything to pick the lock with he'll bust the door down!"

"You mean to tell me that he's gonna bust a door down with his leg injury, a broken arm, several broken ribs, a broken nose, and a whole bunch of minor wounds?" Ghost asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms.

Price glared at him for a few moments before growling, "Until he apologizes to Mark, he's staying in that bed."

Ghost sighed in frustration, then pulled away from Soap and left the room.

* * *

Meanwhile...

John was ecstatic. Everything was falling into place perfectly. He smiled as he walked through the winding halls leading to Gary's room. He figured he'd go pay him a visit. He was bored and this was also the perfect opportunity to mess with him. It'd be even more fun because Gary was in the same building as his teammates, but they couldn't help him. Well, more like wouldn't. They thought he was crazy. He smirked in delight at the mere thought of it.

He reached his destination and skillfully picked the lock before entering the room. Gary was still in the bed with restraints. He was also asleep but appeared to be waking up. John quietly walked over to the hospital bed and sat in a chair beside it. After a few minutes, Gary's eyes fluttered open. As soon as he saw John, his eyes widened in alarm and he struggled against the restraints, drawing in a breath to scream. John clamped a hand over his mouth, and although it didn't prevent him from screaming, it muffled the sound quite a bit.

But he didn't expect Gary to bite him. Gary bit down as hard as he could and felt the copper taste of blood in his mouth, although he knew it wasn't his. John yelled in pain and instinctively recoiled, trying and failing to bring his now injured hand with him. Gary refused to let go and John did the only thing he knew to do- he smacked Gary as hard as he could. Gary's head snapped back from the force if it and he finally let go, John's blood staining his teeth. A large red handprint immediately began to form on his cheek and John regretted hitting him so hard. Not because he had hurt him, he couldn't care less about that, but because his teammates would notice and most likely get suspicious of him. Leave it to Gary to mess everything up.

He glared down at Gary and growled, "I'll be back for you later."

Gary was still too shocked from being hit so hard to respond. Blood ran slowly down his face, coming from his broken nose. Apparently hitting him had triggered a nosebleed.

John quickly put the chair back in its original position and made sure everything in the room looked normal before slipping out the door and locking it once again.

Gary laid still in the bed. Everything hurt. His head, which already had a severe headache, was pulsing in time with his heartbeat. His entire body ached from the continual effort of trying to escape the restraints. Tears shone in his eyes, having arrived when John slapped him. His nose stung horribly and he thought he felt something wet trailing down his face, but was unable to lift a hand to check. Something ran down the back of his throat and he tried to sit up but the room swayed and he felt nauseous. He laid back down and started coughing as more of the thick substance ran down his throat. Coughing soon turned into choking but the only thing he could do was lay there and endure it.

Suddenly there was a sound at the door and he started shaking with fear. John said he would be back later, he must have come back. But why would he be back so soon? How long had it been since he left? He expected John to enter the room and was surprised to see Archer. He gasped, trying to catch his breath, but only ended up choking more. His vision flashed red for a moment- that probably wasn't a good sign... His throat burned from the blood running down it and the choking. It was difficult to breathe. His throat felt like it was on fire.

"Oh my God, Roach!" Archer gasped when he saw blood running down the lower half of his face.

He dashed to his side and immediately started unbuckling the restraints that held his wrists. As soon as they were undone he made Roach sit up. He heard the younger man groan in pain as his broken ribs were jostled in the process. He made Roach tilt his head forward and pinch the bridge of his nose before running from the room. He ran to the hall closet and grabbed several washcloths, then sprinted to the bathroom and got them wet. He hurriedly wrung them out before running back to Roach's room.

Thankfully, Roach was still in the same position he had left him in. He set the washcloths on the bed beside Roach's leg and grabbed one. He put it under Roach's nose and held it there, trying to help stop the blood flow. Roach gasped in pain and flinched. His broken nose already hurt really bad, and he sure as hell didn't need someone touching it. Memories from when he got captured flashed through Roach's mind. He still hated the smell of chloroform. He shuddered just thinking about it. He quickly pushed the memories aside, knowing Archer was just trying to help. His breath came in ragged, wheezing breaths that sounded just awful. He needed to catch his breath, but every time he inhaled deeply his ribs exploded with pain that made his vision blur. Between the need to breathe and the pain in his ribs, he wasn't sure what to do.

"Shhh, it's okay. Just breathe," Archer said calmly.

He was worried. The previously white washcloth under Roach's nose was covered in blood. If he didn't already know it was white, he would have said it was red if someone asked him what color it was. He looked up at Roach's face and immediately noticed the bright red handprint that stood out all the more because the loss of blood had made him pale. How had that gotten there? Roach couldn't have done it, and even if he could have, he wouldn't have slapped himself. That would be idiotic. He could already see dark bruises starting to form. He quickly switched out the now dark red washcloth for a clean white one, glad that he had thought to bring more than one. He decided to take care of more urgent matters for now and deal with the handprint later. He already had a suspicion as to who had done it, although he couldn't really say he blamed them. But that didn't mean it didn't piss him off.

"Calm down, you're okay."

Blood was all over everything by now. Roach's shirt and chest were covered in it, as were the bed sheets. He would have to move Roach out of here to get him cleaned up. And he also didn't want him to freak out. He could already tell Roach was getting uncomfortable. His bloodshot eyes darted around the room, seemingly searching for an escape. He fidgeted uneasily on the bed, probably because his ankles were still in the restraints and he no longer liked being in this room because of his experiences here. Not to mention he was claustrophobic and the door was locked. He didn't like that at all.

Archer was extremely relieved when the blood clotted and stopped flowing. He removed the washcloth from Roach's nose and carefully wiped the rest of the blood from his face. Usually Roach would've resisted. He didn't like people messing with his face. But he was currently too busy focussing on trying to breathe and silently willing the pain to go away. He had always hated taking meds but he would kill for some pain meds right about now. Vaguely he felt Archer unbuckle the restraints that held his ankles. Thank God.

"Alright, I'm gonna take you to the rec room and get you cleaned up. You think you can walk?" He asked, concern evident on his face.

Roach turned slightly and the room swayed sickeningly. His stomach lurched and he felt bile rise in his throat. He attempted to say "no" but his voice refused to work, probably because it was irritated. So he just shook his head, which made the room turn upside down. He felt like he was high on something, although he had no clue what.

"Of course you can't. I'm sorry for asking stupid questions, you just scared the shit out of me." Archer sighed as he stood up and slid an arm under his knees while the other supported his back.

Roach immediately tensed up and vehemently shook his head in panic, making the world spin. Oh God he felt like he was gonna puke...!

"It's okay, I swear I won't drop you this time- as long as you sit still." The last part of the sentence was added jokingly, but Roach was still scared shitless that he was gonna be dropped.

The walls looked like one big blob of color to him and he didn't realize that they were in the rec room until he was gently lowered onto a soft surface- the couch. He heard someone talking but wasn't able to understand a word of what they were saying. The pounding in his ears from the terrible headache he had drowned everything out. His eyes gradually slid closed and he was almost asleep when a hand on his head nearly caused him to jump off the couch- efficiently waking him up.

"Sorry Bug, but you need to stay awake." Archer muttered as he set some supplies down on the floor beside the couch.

He grabbed the bag of ice from his pile of supplies and wrapped a washcloth around it so it wasn't too cold for Roach. He leaned forward and gently placed the makeshift ice pack on Roach's cheek- where a horrific bruise was already beginning to form. The hand print was still clearly visible and he wondered just how hard someone (*cough* *cough* ...John) had hit his young friend. Roach flinched away from the contact and whined when he felt something cold touch his bruised cheek.

"Shhh, it's okay. It'll make you feel better." Archer said, holding the ice pack in place despite Roach's attempts to move away.

Roach seemed to settle down some after a few minutes and he reached for the bottle of pain meds that sat by his feet. After taking two pills from it, he helped Roach sit up and gave them to him along with a glass of water. He was a bit worried that he would, as usual, refuse to take them but his fears disappeared when Roach swallowed them down without the slightest bit of hesitation. That only showed how truly shitty he felt. He usually avoided any and all types of meds at all times, but if he took them without even hesitating, _that's_ when you needed to worry.

He looked at Roach's blood stained shirt and sighed. Between blood covering them and Archer cutting them off all the time, he was running out of clothes to wear. He slid Roach's shirt off of him and tried not to stare at the hundreds of scars that marred his body while he cleaned the blood away from his neck and chest. He listened to Roach's breathing for a few moments and sighed. It still didn't sound good- at all. But there was currently nothing he could do about that.

It didn't take long at all to clean him up- mostly because there wasn't much to clean. All he had to do was wipe the dried blood off of him, give him pain meds, and put an ice pack on his cheek. Roach was dozing lightly when the rest of the 141 ran into the room looking flustered. Archer wasn't surprised, he knew that they would be looking for Roach, but he was too busy dealing with him to tell them that Roach was fine and... well... hadn't escaped.

"Roach! Archer? Why is he in here? What the fuck?" Soap asked, concern showing on his face.

Roach woke up when he heard yelling, which had made his headache _way_ worse than it had been. Although the pain meds had helped, they didn't completely numb the pain and as a result, his head still hurt. As did everywhere else, but at least now it wasn't as bad. He groggily opened his eyes and searched for the source of the disruption. He found it when his eyes landed on the rest of the 141, all of whom were standing in front of Archer. They looked angry, all except for Ghost, whom looked sympathetic.

"The only reason he's out here is because I _had_ to bring him here. When I went in his room to check on him he had a nosebleed and was laying there choking on his own blood. And I'm pretty sure that Mark guy went to visit him earlier." He said, leaning forward and removing the ice pack from Roach's cheek for a moment to show them the large bruise that occupied the space below it.

There were several gasps of shock from the assembled group of men. Ghost rushed forward and sat on the edge of the couch beside Roach, eyes immediately roaming over his body, searching for other injuries. After finding none, he turned to Soap and Price, eyes flaring with anger.

"I told you tying him up was a bad idea! He could have choked to death laying there like that and he wouldn't have been able to do anything about it!"

"Alright, look. I know he could have died and that would have been awful. But he didn't. And as soon as Archer's done with him, he's going back to that room and he's staying there until he apologizes."

Disbelief ghosted across Ghost's (hehehe...) face. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Roach could've _died_ in that room, tied down like that and Price was gonna send him back in there and put him in restraints again?! He knew Price was hard on them sometimes, but damn. He was rarely this harsh to any of them.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about?! You _do_ realize that if Archer hadn't gone to check on him when he did, Roach would be dead right now? And with that knowledge, you're going to put him back in there and tie him down again, all because some idiot wants an apology from him?!" He roared, blood pumping through his veins at a furious rate. He was absolutely livid.

Roach sat there listening to their conversation. He didn't like where it was going. He didn't want to be put in restraints again, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna apologize to John for anything. They'd have to kill him before then, which he knew they wouldn't do. There was only one solution. Run.

Price slowly stalked toward him, only stopping when he stood directly in front of the younger man.

"Yes, I am going to. You know why? Because 'some idiot' was nearly killed by him. And I say that idiot damn well deserves an apology for nearly being murdered, especially since he did _absolutely_ nothing wrong!"

Roach was busy gathering his energy to get up and leave. Unbeknownst to anyone else in the room, he slowly sat up, barely managing to suppress groans of pain as he did so.

"Are you trying to kill Roach or something?! What if he gets another nosebleed and dies this time? What the fuck are you gonna do then?!"

"He's not going to die because now someone will be with him at all times. If something like that happens again, someone will be with him to deal with it, so therefore he will _not_ die."

Now was a good time to put his plan into action (NOT). He launched himself from the couch and didn't even make it five steps before he keeled over and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Sometimes life really sucked.

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 **A/N: Omg that was a really really really REALLY long chapter. I hope you guys appreciate this... it took me forever to write this out. Please review! This story isn't that popular... and it kinda makes me sad. My other story has over 110 reviews and it makes me happy, but then I look at how many reviews this story has... and it makes me a bit sad. Oh well. I'll try to update again a.s.a.p! Love you guys! :)**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hello! Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out, my life kinda just got flipped upside down. And not in a good way. You guys should be glad I'm still updating. I've seen writers who stop updating all of their stories when their life gets hard, so you had better appreciate me updating. You can do that by reviewing.**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my awesome muse!***

 **WARNING: There will be lots and lots of angst (more than usual) in this chapter as well as violence. There's also more swearing than usual. You have been warned.**

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Roach sighed in his sleep and tried to roll over, only to discover that he couldn't. Something was holding him down, keeping him in place. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down at himself, his still half asleep mind slowly registering that he was back in his room, once again tied to the bed with restraints. He let his head fall back onto the pillow and cursed. He loved his teammates like he would a family (if he had a proper one) but sometimes they could be real assholes. He pulled at one of his wrists and looked at it when he felt that something soft was wrapped around it. Gauze. Archer must have cleaned his wrists up. He didn't even bother trying to get out of the restraints this time. He knew full well that he wasn't going to be getting out of them until someone untied him. Which really pissed him off, but that didn't help anything.

He laid there for a while, going over what he knew. Well for one, John was here somewhere. That was _bad._ He figured he'd probably come to take him back. He never wanted that to happen, but he was unable to prevent it while tied down like this. Damn it. If John injured or killed any of his friends, he knew it would be all his fault. His fault for not getting rid of the evil man when he should've. His fault for not warning his friends... He wanted to warn them, but he just... couldn't. It was _way_ too risky. If he told them, John would probably murder everyone on base and blow up the building. Or they wouldn't believe him. That would hurt. Plus, he was scared. Scared that they would judge him for having such a horrible person for a father. And they would look at him differently. He _knew_ they would. It wasn't personal, everyone did when they found out he was the son of an insane, sadistic bastard who loved to torture and kill. He felt tears well in his eyes but they didn't get the chance to fall before the lock on the door unlocked with a click and the door opened, several people filing into the room shortly after.

His eyes immediately shot to the door and were met with the sight of Captain Price and 'Mark' ( a.k.a John). His whole body tensed, ready for a fight as he momentarily forgot that he couldn't move. John noticed this and smiled teasingly at him. Red hot rage flowed through him and he tugged at the restraints, wanting nothing more than to rip John's head off with his bare hands. They both sat down in chairs beside his bed, but he wasn't paying attention to Price at all, only John. His attention was still focused on John when Price spoke.

"Okay Roach, here's the deal. You apologize to Mark and you can go, you got that? When and _only when_ you apologize to Mark, I'll untie you and you're free to leave the room. Now apologize."

Now _that_ got Roach's attention. Why the fuck should he apologize to that evil, lying, sadistic pile of shit?!

"Be nice." Price growled.

He hadn't realized he'd said it aloud. It was true though. He would never _ever_ apologize to that bastard. They'd have to kill him first, and even then he still wouldn't apologize. He didn't care if he had to stay in this bed for a year. They had to untie him eventually, apology or not. He turned his head and looked directly into Price's eyes.

"No," He said defiantly, "I won't apologize. I don't give a _bloody fuck_ about getting out of this bed. I will not EVER apologize to that FILTHY, LYING LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT."

Price angrily glared down at him.

"Why are you being such an ass? He's a _perimeter guard_ for fuck's sake! And on top of that, he's innocent! You're the one at fault here, Roach. Now apologize."

"NO!"

"You tried to _kill_ him! Doesn't he _at least_ deserve an apology for that?!"

"NO HE DOES NOT! HE'S AN EVIL FUCKING BASTARD WHO DOESN'T DESERVE ANYTHING BUT DEATH!" Roach yelled as he yanked and pulled at the restraints so hard that Price was honestly surprised they didn't break.

"Fine then! You ca-"

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKIN' BITCH! AS SOON AS I GET OUT OF THIS BED I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Roach screamed at John, who just smiled in response.

That only pissed him off more. Blood splattered onto the sheets as he tore open his already injured wrists again from thrashing so hard. Price sighed, took Mark, and left the room (also leaving a screaming Roach behind), finally realizing that he wasn't going to be getting an apology out of Roach today. Or perhaps any other day. He told Mark that he was free to leave and that they'd try again another day. Mark quietly thanked him and left, going back to wherever it was he was supposed to be. Price sighed again and went back to the rec room to send Ghost to Roach's room. He was getting first watch.

* * *

Ghost sighed as he walked down the hall to Roach's room. He had heard his angry yelling all the way from the rec room, as well as the Ghosts that were in there at the time. He was worried about his friend. He knew it took a lot to piss him off that much. He was concerned about what mood he would be in when he got there. He hoped it wouldn't be a bad one. When Roach was in a bad mood it made one feel like the world was ending. It didn't take long for him to find Roach's room. He hesitantly unlocked the door and his eyes shot to where he knew his friend would be just in time to see him flinch and tense up.

He closed the door behind himself and sat in a chair by Roach's bed, giving him a once over as he did so. He didn't look very good. He was pale and dark circles decorated the area under his eyes. The gauze that surrounded his wrists and ankles was deep red in color from the fresh blood that seeped through it. His cheeks were tear stained, his eyes bloodshot and red rimmed. He looked like he'd been through hell and back.

"Hey..." He murmured, not really knowing what else to say.

"G-Ghost... d-don't trust M-Mark. He's not who h-he says he is." Roach said urgently, his eyes begging Ghost to believe him.

Ghost sighed and ran a hand through his short hair.

"Roach listen, he's just a perimeter guard. That's all. You probably mistook him for someone else, now why don't you just-"

"NO! Why d-don't any of you understand? H-he's a bad person and y-you've got to kill him before he gets me!" He cried, tears of frustration already beginning to gather in his eyes.

"He's not gonna get you. You're safe, okay? I won't let anyone get you, I promise."

"D-don't lie! He's g-gonna get me again and it'll b-be horri-"

"No he is not! What are you going on about? And what do you mean _again_?"

"J-John! He's gonna get m-me!" Roach whimpered, shaking in fear as tears fell freely from his eyes.

"John? Who is John?"

Neither of them noticed when the door opened a crack and a small canister slid silently into the room. There was a slight hiss as sleeping gas (a.k.a Methoxyflurane if anyone wants to look it up) was released from it and began filling the room.

"A b-bad person!"

"Roach, you're not making any sense. Get some rest, you look like a zombie." Ghost said quietly.

Roach looked like he was about to protest when suddenly his tear filled eyes focussed on something behind Ghost and grew wide with panic. The gas had already filled the room.

"G-GHOST!" He yelled while struggling frantically to get free of the restraints.

Ghost followed his gaze and turned around in his chair. His eyes also grew wide when he saw that gas had filled the room.

"Holy shit!" He said, sucking in a huge breath of fresh air and holding it before bolting for the door.

It was difficult to see, but he managed to make it there without falling on his ass. The handle wouldn't budge. Damn it. He was starting to run out of air. He backed up and was about to attempt to bust the door down when his foot got caught on one of the multiple chairs behind him and he tripped, gasping in surprise as he fell flat on his ass. The gas burned as it hit his throat, causing him to cough and in turn, inhale more of the harmful gas. His sight faltered as darkness slowly crept up on him from the edges of his vision. Suddenly he felt incredibly drowsy. He tried to fight it but his exhaustion overpowered his will to stay awake and he fell into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness.

"NOOO!" Roach screamed when he saw the faint outline of Ghost that he could make out go limp and stop moving.

Now there was no one left to help him escape. He had already inhaled some of the gas and was also feeling exhausted (well, more exhausted than he felt in the first place), and it got increasingly worse each time he inhaled. He continued to struggle and fight against the restraints, but to no avail. More tears escaped his eyes as hopelessness filled him to the brim. There was nothing he could do now. No way to prevent this from happening. And now Ghost was going to be hurt too. Knowing John, he would probably take Ghost with him and torture him to get Roach to give him intel on the 141. That would break Roach's heart. He couldn't even bare the _thought_ of it, much less it actually happening. Using all of his strength, he yanked his leg back and heard a loud _snap,_ barely registering the fact that he had broken one of the restraints. As his eyes closed against his will, he saw someone wearing a gas mask come into the room and walk up to his bed. He vaguely felt them unbuckling the other three restraints before he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

The Ghosts and 141 members (excluding Roach and Ghost) all sat in the rec room, boredly listening to Price rant on and on about how stubborn Roach was.

"He's so fucking stubborn! Why the bloody hell is he so stubborn?! Damn it!" Price yelled, pacing back and forth in the center of the room.

Archer sighed and said, "We already know he's stubborn. You don't need to repeatedly state that fact."

Price turned a murderous glare on him and it seemed to go right through him. Archer looked down at the floor and uncomfortably shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Keegan looked up from his book and decided to share his opinion.

"Maybe Ghost can get him to apologize. They're really close and he'll probably listen to him."

Everyone on base knew how close Roach and Ghost were. Even the guards. They had all seen them sit together, frequently falling asleep in each other's laps as well. Honestly, they thought it was kinda cute. Some of them had even taken pictures of them while they were asleep because they looked so cute together. A few of them wondered if they were in a relationship, but didn't really care enough to ask. Even if they were, they wouldn't judge.

"Yeah. I think he would listen to Ghost. Besides, he's nice to him... unlike somebody else I know." Logan said, looking pointedly at Price.

"What?! I'm nice to him... most of the time..."

"We heard you yelling at him. You realize he's probably still got a killer headache, right? You probably hurt him, being so loud right next to him."

"Well he yelled at me first and it didn't seem to bother him." Price shrugged nonchalantly.

"You're hopeless." Hesh sighed with a grin.

Riley barked in what they thought was agreement. Little did they know he was trying to warn them. He sensed that something was seriously wrong and he didn't like it.

"See! Even Riley agrees." Kick laughed.

Riley stood up and barked again, louder this time. He started growling and his ears stood erect. He barked over and over again, uneasily walking around the room and sniffing at the floor.

"Riley, what's wrong boy?" Logan asked, getting up from the couch to follow his dog.

He had just gotten up when gas began to fill the room, coming through the vents on the walls.

"Shit! Everybody out!" Merrick yelled, sprinting for one of the two doors in the rec room.

Everyone else ran to either the door Merrick went for or the other door at the opposite side of the room. The gas was quickly spreading throughout the room, forcing them to hold their breath. When he reached the door, Merrick went to push it open and it wouldn't even budge. The other door was the same. They were locked in. Logan, Hesh, Keegan, Toad, and Archer were at one door with Merrick, Price, Soap, and Kick at the other. Riley was already unconscious because... well... he is a dog and doesn't know how to hold his breath. On both sides they started kicking at the doors, desperately trying to get them open. After several minutes, they could no longer hold their breath and were forced to breathe. They were unconscious within minutes.

Before he fell into unconsciousness, Logan thought he heard the faint sound of helicopter rotors going over the base.

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 **A/N: Whoo, long chapter. This one was really tough to write so please review! Plus, I was working on this yesterday and RIGHT as I went to click the save button, the Wi-Fi turned off and all of my progress was lost! I was so pissed. So basically my point is that I work really hard to get these chapters published at a reasonable time so you should take a few seconds to review. I really appreciate it when you do.**

 **Happy Easter! :)**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: OMG YOU GUYS SHOULD TOTALLY GO READ "Between Worlds" by Marioexpertken! I LOVE IT AND I'M GONNA DIE IF THEY DON'T UPDATE AGAIN SOOOOOOONNN! Sorry, I've had too much Easter candy and I'm spazzin' out... oops**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse! You guys should know this by now...***

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Dan and John were silent as the helicopter took off, busying themselves with syringes as they got sedatives ready to inject their captives with to keep them under until they got to base. Ghost was strapped down and handcuffed in the backseat with Dan sitting beside him. Gary was similarly bound in the front seat beside John. It had been extremely easy to get them off base. Then again, everyone who remained on the Ghosts' base was either unconscious or dead. They had had to kill the guards on patrol around the perimeter to make a clean getaway, but besides that everyone else was still alive. John got lost in thought, thinking about all of the ways he could torture Gary. He was pulled from his daydreaming when the object of his thoughts began to stir, the effects of the gas wearing off. John flicked the syringe a few times to get rid of the air bubbles before stabbing the needle into Gary's neck and pushing the plunger down.

Gary tried to escape the dark fog that surrounded him, each attempt failing as freedom slipped through his grasp, just out of reach. He didn't know why, but for some reason he felt a desperate need to escape the depths of unconsciousness and wake up. His instincts were screaming at him, saying that something was terribly wrong and he needed to wake up. He didn't want to. He was _so_ tired and the pull of unconsciousness was nearly irresistible. But, being Gary, he was curious as to why he needed to wake up and his curiosity overpowered his exhaustion. It was difficult, but he managed to slowly open his eyes to half mast and look up. He wished to God he hadn't. What he saw scared him more than anything had ever since he got captured a few months ago.

It was John, looking down at him with a sadistic smirk as he toyed with an object in his hands. He tried to scream but he was gagged and it ended up sounding more like a strangled yelp than a scream. His mouth was incredibly dry and felt like something had died in there and was decomposing. He tried to move and quickly realized he couldn't as panic climbed up his throat and threatened to strangle him. His heart pounded loudly in his chest and he was sure that anyone within a mile radius could hear it. He didn't notice the tears of fear fall from his cheeks as he struggled to get free. He vaguely felt pain running through his injured leg but he ignored it, too busy trying to get away. He was unable to do anything as John leaned forward and stabbed a needle into his neck. He whimpered and squirmed, which only made it sting more. He felt a cool liquid enter his neck and became tired shortly after. As always, he tried to fight it and, as always, he lost. After a few minutes of fighting, he was sucked into the black abyss of unconsciousness once again, not to emerge until six and a half hours had passed.

* * *

Logan shoved his way through the frustrating dark fog that surrounded him. It reminded him of Riley when he wanted to play. So stubborn. The faint sound of coughing reached his ears and something clicked in his memory. Before he could investigate it, he felt hands wrap around his wrists as someone started to drag him somewhere. He was immediately reminded of being captured by Rorke in Las Vegas, where Elias was murdered. The fog disappeared as his eyes shot open and he yanked his hands away from the person. He leapt to his feet and stumbled back as waves of dizziness assaulted his still half asleep brain. He shuddered and tried to pull away when a pair of strong hands wrapped around his arm, preventing him from falling on his ass.

"Woah, sorry bro, didn't mean to scare you. You okay?" Hesh asked his younger brother, his voice full of concern.

Logan turned his head to look at him and nodded. Then he remembered. The gas. The doors being locked. Passing out.

"Shit! What happened?"

"We aren't quite sure yet. Merrick and Keegan are trying to get the doors open. You wanna help me wake everyone else up?"

Logan nodded and went around the room waking the rest of his friends up. It didn't take long and when they were done, Merrick and Keegan had managed to get the doors open. They could all feel something awful in the air. There was a lot of tension in the room. They knew that Roach had probably been taken again, why else would someone wait until nearly everyone was in one room, lock them in there, and knock them out? Everyone was having them, but no one was bold enough to voice these thoughts.

They quickly and silently went through the halls leading to Roach's room in the infirmary, each one of them hoping and praying that he and Ghost were still there. They had their sidearms loaded and ready and their combat knives, just in case the asshole who knocked them out was still on base. Sadly for them, he wasn't. And neither were Roach and Ghost. When they entered the room, that was the first thing they noticed. No one was there. Their hearts all sunk in unison. The guilt washed over them like a tidal wave and settled on them like a thick blanket.

"Damn it! Why can't anyone ever just leave the poor kid alone?!" Soap said angrily.

The room was a mess. A chair was knocked over, laying on its side on the floor. The bed was what caught their attention though. Blood stained the areas where the restraints were, but even more interestingly, one of them was _broken._ Those things were nearly impossible to break. None of them could believe that Roach had broken it.

"How did...? Did he do that...?" Hesh asked.

"I suppose he could have if he tried hard enough."

"But... but they're like impossible to get out of!"

"Obviously not if he broke one."

"Are you sure it was him and not the person who took him?"

"Why would the person who took him only break one and just untie the other three? That'd be stupid."

Archer walked up to the bed and pointed to a red splotch of blood that was more toward the center of the bed than the others.

"He tore his leg open again. It'll be infected when we get him back." He stated in a defeated voice.

 _If we get him back._

The last of the sentence was left unspoken as no one wanted to confront that possibility.

"It was the perimeter guard that he tried to warn us about. He wasn't seeing things. Fuck, I should've listened to him." Price said sadly, guilt flowing over him in an endless downpour.

"Regretting your actions isn't going to help them. We need to get them back quickly before they get killed. Did he have a tracker in him?"

"Yes, but they probably removed it. That's what they did last time."

"We should at least try. Go look it up and see if you can get a location. Logan and Hesh, check the security cameras."

"Ummm... Merrick... someone shot them all..." Logan said, pointing to one of the cameras on the upper wall.

"Fuck. Then go look around, check in with the guards if they're still alive and look for any clues that could give us a lead."

The pair nodded and hurried off to do as they had been ordered.

"Everyone else, spread out. We'll search the base first then move out to the perimeter and surrounding territory."

They spent the rest of the day looking for anything and everything that could give them a clue as to where their friends had been taken. But at the end of the day, they came up empty. There was nothing. Whoever took them was smart, they'll give him that. But they all made a silent promise to themselves that they would find them, and whoever took them would pay. That was certain.

* * *

 **A/N: I know guys, lame ending, I'm sorry. But I can't concentrate today for some reason. So sorry! At least you got a quick update though! And it's a reasonable length. SO BE THANKFUL AND REVIEW BEFORE I MURDER GHOST.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Helloooo~ ... goodbyeeee~**

 **WARNING: Roach and Ghost got captured... so you know what this means! Torture! Whoop whoop**

 **ALSO: THERE IS GORE... LOTS OF GORE...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse! She's so awesome! (I apologize if MyLittleRobin is not a she... I kinda forgot cause I have too many muses... oops...)***

* * *

 **Day One...**

Roach gasped and sputtered when something cold and wet was poured all over him. He cried out and tried to move, only to discover that his wrists and ankles were secured to the cold hard surface on which he laid. His eyes flew open, only to see John standing above him with a smirk on his face. Bastard.

"Hello Gary. Did you have a nice nap?"

"No, you fucking bastard."

"What did you just call me?!"

Then a thought came to him.

 _Where is Ghost?_

He pulled at the restraints, desperately trying to sit up and look for Ghost. He couldn't sit up. He raised his head off the table only to have John grab it and slam it back down, causing pain to flare and his head to start pounding. His leg felt like it was on fire, too. Damn it.

"What the hell did you do to Ghost?! Where is he?!" He yelled, getting pissed.

John smiled and he felt the anger boiling over within him.

"Oh, your friend? He's really fun, we played doctor while you were taking your nap."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"Shhh, calm down, he only lost a toe... or two..."

"YOU FUCKING-"

John covered his mouth with a large hand.

"Shut the fuck up. Your screaming is getting annoying." He said while using his free hand to play with Roach's hair.

Then Roach, being the dumbass that he was, decided that it was a good idea to bite John's hand. Nope. He bit down as hard as he could and felt the copper taste of blood in his mouth. John screamed and punched him, causing his nose to crack and start bleeding (it also really hurt... cause his nose was still broken and healing from the last time John punched him).

"YOU FUCKING BITCH! NEXT TIME I PLAY DOCTOR WITH YOUR FRIEND HE'S GONNA LOSE A HAND!" John yelled, infuriated that someone as insignificant as Gary had dared to bite him.

Roach didn't reply, as he was too busy trying to breathe through the blood going down his throat, which was causing him to choke. There was blood all over his face now, some even falling onto his bare chest. The only thing he was wearing was boxers. He thrashed, trying to at least sit up so he could breathe, but he couldn't. The restraints were thick metal and they wouldn't even budge, slicing into his skin each time he pulled on them. His wrists were slick with blood. He panicked. He couldn't stand not being able to breathe. He hated it. Reflex tears blurred his vision to the point that John's face was only a blob of color. His throat felt like it was on fire and he couldn't get the oxygen that he needed. Black spots danced across his vision as he choked and gasped like a fish out of water. All he could think of was when he had gotten a nosebleed while in restraints back at the Ghosts' base.

John just laughed, going on about how he was 'getting what he deserved'. Dan casually walked in, as if what was going on inside the room was perfectly normal.

"Hey, looks like you're having fun." He chuckled, standing beside John to watch the show.

"The little bitch bit me." John stated angrily, holding his blood smeared hand up for the younger man to see.

"I can see that. He's feisty, isn't he? The other one is too, they're both so stubborn. Looks like this one will have to get his nose re-set."

"Yeah, we can get the doctor to do it later, when he actually needs one. He's gonna be a lot worse off than this in the near future."

Dan hummed in agreement.

Meanwhile, Roach had just fallen unconscious due to his lack of oxygen.

* * *

 **Day Two...**

Ghost screamed through the gag in his mouth as Dan made a long deep cut that went all the way from his knee to his ankle. Damn it. That was gonna need a lot of stitches... He felt warm blood flow out of it and down the sides of his leg. Dan laughed and ran the sharp tip of the blade across Ghost's cheek, teasing him. All the while Ghost screamed curses at him that he didn't understand through the gag. He was blindfolded too, which only made things worse. He absolutely _loathed_ not being able to see. He hated not knowing what was going on. It was one of the few things that _really_ bothered him.

"Guess what I did earlier?" Dan said, the amusement clear in his voice.

He leaned down and whispered in his ear, "I gutted your little friend. What was his name... Roach? You should've heard him scream. And he did too, the whole time. I even fed his corpse to the dogs."

Ghost tuned him out the best he could... but he couldn't help but worry. He hadn't seen Roach since they had been knocked out back at the Ghosts' base. He had been worried sick over his best friend ever since he had woken up.

 _It's not true. It's not true. It's not true..._

He repeated over and over in his mind, willing himself not to believe Dan's lies. Then, without warning there was a prick in his neck. He yelped slightly and squirmed, attempting for the thousandth time to get out of the restraints. It was only then that he understood Roach's frustration and anger when they had him in restraints. He silently vowed never to do that again.

He vaguely heard Dan going on about something or other in the background, but something else drowned it out. Screaming. He recognized the voice immediately as Roach's. Then a picture formed in his mind, almost like a movie playing in his head. It was Roach, laying on a table with restraints just like the one he was currently on. Dan stood over his small form, a large serrated knife held loosely in his hand. Suddenly he brought knife up over Roach's chest and slammed it down with a large amount of force. The knife burned its way into Roach's chest as he screamed and thrashed on the table. Dan laughed maniacally and slowly began to pull the knife down his abdomen, slicing him open. Roach's guts and blood spilled out onto the table.

Ghost screamed, horrified at what he had just seen. He tugged at the restraints, willing to do anything just to get out of them and go see if Roach was okay.

Dan continued to bring the knife down until Roach's abdomen had a huge wound all the way down it. At this point Roach couldn't even scream anymore. He was losing way too much blood... and internal organs for that matter. Dan yanked the knife out and gave a long piercing whistle. Roach was horrified when two huge snarling german shepherds ran into the room.

"Dinner's served, boys." Dan said with a smile before casually strolling from the room.

Suddenly the picture disappeared altogether. Ghost was breathing heavily and covered in sweat. He couldn't seem to catch his breath... and he didn't think the black spots appearing in his vision were a good thing. His heart felt like it was going to pop out of his chest because it was beating so fast. He was certain that Dan could hear it... wherever that bastard went. His mind was overwhelmed with all the questions he had.

Where were they? Was Roach okay? Where was Roach? Who had captured them? Why the fuck couldn't he breathe?

After a few minutes he passed out. Dan stood by a large table in the corner of the room, playing with a few of his favorite toys. He smiled when he saw Ghost's body go limp. That was part of the poison he had injected him with, Physotigmine. It targeted your current biggest fear and brought it to the surface. Then it played it out like a movie, making some believe that it actually happened. Most people had panic attacks and passed out afterwards, which is what happened to Ghost. Others just sit there and cry, scared shitless. Your reaction depended on who you were and what you saw.

He knew that Ghost had seen what he told him about earlier, though. He did that on purpose just to scare the shit out of him. Dan laughed and put the machete he was holding back on the table and left the room in search of John.

* * *

 **A/N: Whooo... well that was interesting. Pleeeaaaaasssseeeee reeeeevvvviiiiieeeeeewwwww...!**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hello! Well, I got two reviews in the last chappie! Yay! I was happy. THANK YOU to those who took the time to review, as for you lazy asses (jk, jk don't get all offended) that read and don't bother to review... well I don't really have anything to say to you guys... lol.**

 **WARNING: See the A/N for chapter 27.**

 **MyLittleRobin is my muse! :)**

* * *

 **Day Three...**

John quietly unlocked the restraints around Roach's wrists and ankles. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and fastened them around his wrists with a slight click. Then he picked Roach up and started walking down the hall, heading for a small secure room which he had put there specifically for this purpose. He knew about Roach's claustrophobia and enjoyed using it to scare him shitless. (To be exact, the room was 5x5 feet, which is pretty tiny by the way).

Roach was still unconscious from the last time John had beaten the shit out of him. But after a few minutes of walking he began to wake up. The halls swayed sickeningly and he felt like puking as soon as he opened his eyes. His arm burned like a bitch. It was still healing when they had taken him, but they took the cast off and now it throbbed endlessly no matter what he did. And the fact that it was currently pulled around behind him didn't help. That's when he realized he was looking at the floor. Why was he upside down? And more importantly, why was he moving? He shifted, trying to get a look at who was carrying him.

"Hi Gary." John said, flashing him a smile that made his blood boil.

"Put me down you idiot." He snapped, only earning a chuckle in response.

He could see his mother, Alyss, laying in the hospital bed. Could hear the annoying blare of the heart monitor as it showed a flat line. He shook his head and Alyss disappeared, but the flat line sound didn't. Great. That's just what he needed to hear right now. He gasped as suddenly he was thrown on the ground and the air rushed from his lungs. He looked up and saw nothing. It was dark. Way _way_ too dark. He sat up and heaved air into his lungs just in time to see the reinforced metal door slam shut, the lock sliding into place shortly after. His heart leapt into his throat when he realized how small the room was. His heart pounded loudly in his chest as his breathing sped up.

 _No. No, this can't be happening!_

He scrambled to his feet, a difficult thing to do with severe injuries and handcuffs around his wrists, but he did it. He felt the familiar anxiety slither throughout his body and threaten to take over. He could feel the walls closing in on him. Suddenly air was no longer available, almost as if the tiny room had stolen it away from him. He hadn't even been in the room for 10 minutes yet, but to him it felt like days. Sweat covered his body and he began to shake uncontrollably, tears spilling from his eyes as he began to hyperventilate.

"NOOOO! LET ME OUT!" He screamed desperately, bolting for the door that he knew he wouldn't be able to open.

Still, he tried. He kicked it so many times that eventually he heard a loud snap. Pain spiked in his leg and ran all the way up it, causing him to shiver involuntarily. Damn it. He was pretty sure he had just broken his foot. Way to go Roach. He slumped over on the ground, lacking the energy and determination to kick at the door anymore. Instead, he laid there and screamed himself hoarse as the walls continued to close in on him. Eventually, he felt like he was stuck in a teeny tiny box. It was suffocating. He had cried so much that he was pretty sure his head would explode any minute now. Everything hurt. There wasn't an inch of his body that didn't hurt, John had made sure of that.

"Ghost... G-Ghost, save m-me..." He whimpered pitifully as the world closed in on him.

He felt so alone. He couldn't catch his breath no matter how hard he tried. Another wave of anxiety washed over him. He couldn't breathe. The thought only caused him to cry harder, which in turn made it harder to breathe. He didn't notice the black spots that took over his vision because the room was so dark that he couldn't see in the first place. He thought he heard laughter outside the door just before he fell into the welcoming arms of unconsciousness.

* * *

Dan sat calmly in a metal chair by the table on which Ghost laid. Said captive was viciously glaring at him, meanwhile he just smiled and laughed, which pissed Ghost off to no end. Dan sighed and stood up, pacing back and forth in front of the table.

"I suppose you must be wondering what John has done with your friend?" He asked, watching Ghost intently for a reaction.

 _Oh, so John is that guy's name... well... if we ever get out of here, at least I have a name._ Ghost thought bitterly.

He wasn't expecting an answer because Ghost was still gagged, but he at least wanted a reaction. He didn't get one.

"Why don't we go visit him?" He said with a smirk as he grabbed one end of the table and began pushing it toward the door.

They went through so many hallways that Ghost had no clue as to where the hell they were going. After what he assumed was at least 5 minutes, they stopped. He opened his eyes and was confused to see that they were still in a hallway. He expected a room, or at least something-

"NOOOO! LET ME OUT!"

The scream erupted from a room that they had stopped right beside. Ghost nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden loud noise. Then his mind registered that it was Roach's voice. His eyes widened and his head whipped toward the door. Dan laughed at his reaction but he was too busy listening to give a shit about him right now. He heard moving in the room, then a bunch of loud bangs as Roach kicked at the door. He was so focussed on his friend that he didn't notice the tears that slipped from his eyes. He wondered what the hell was going on in there. He was scared the whole time he listened, but what scared him the most was the loud snap he heard and the scream of agony that followed shortly after.

"ROACH!" He yelled through the gag, tugging on the restraints with all his might.

"Hey, you wanna know a fun fact? That room is 5x5 feet and it's completely dark in there." Dan smiled as he laid a hand on his shoulder.

Ghost's eyes grew huge at the realization of what was going on. He understood now why Roach was freaking out. His friend _hated_ small spaces and had severe claustrophobia. The smallest details about a room, for example, if it had no window, could really bother him and cause him to refuse to enter the room. He knew that if a detail that small could bother his friend so much, being in a super small room with no light would probably haunt him until he died. Damn it. Roach was probably gonna have some serious issues if they ever got out of here...

After about half an hour of listening to Roach's screams and cries, Dan brought him back to his room. But he didn't notice, because he had heard something that shattered his heart into a million pieces.

"Ghost... G-Ghost, save m-me..."

It replayed over and over again in his mind, not stopping until he fell unconscious several hours later after Dan had beaten him senseless.

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 **A/N: I EXPECT REVIEWS, PEOPLE.**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Hello peoples! ... Goodbye peoples!...**

 **WARNING: Same as chapter 27.**

 **MyLittleRobin is ma muse!**

* * *

 **Day Four...**

Roach woke up a while later to find himself in the darkness. A sob escaped him when he immediately recognized where he was.

"No... n-no no nooo..."

He tried to move his hands, but they were still in the handcuffs and the movement set his injured arm aflame. He couldn't walk because he had broken his leg, which currently felt like it had been run over by a tank. He laid back down and curled in on himself as he cried. He laid there for a while, getting closer and closer to hyperventilating as each second passed by, when suddenly he heard footsteps. He sniffled and sat up a bit, looking expectantly at the door. The bar slowly slid out of its place... something wasn't right. He pushed himself back, but the room was so small that there wasn't anywhere to go. The door opened and closed, but he saw a figure walk in just before it closed.

Fear gripped his heart as the person moved closer to him. He wanted to ask who it was, but he had a bad feeling that it was John... and he was right, it was. But today, John had brought a few of his favorite knives and wanted to play. Roach could feel it. John was standing right above him. He screamed when a pair of strong hands wrapped around the handcuffs that held his arms in place and yanked him up. His arm was on fire. He couldn't stand it. The movement hurt his leg too and it felt like firecrackers were exploding inside of it.

Roach didn't know, but there was a thick hook high on the wall. John could see because he had night vision goggles on. He put the chain of the handcuffs in the hook and snapped the top part shut so Roach couldn't get away. Roach tried to kick with his uninjured leg but John moved out of the way and kneed him in the groin. He laughed when the younger man cried in pain and went limp.

Roach's feet were dangling in the air, which left his arms to support his weight. The pain that ran through his injured arm was horrific. His arm throbbed and burned worse than anything he'd ever felt before. His cheeks were soaked with fresh tears. He hated this. He couldn't even see, which made the anticipation unbearable. He wondered what John was gonna do, but at the same time he didn't want to know.

The fact that John was his father only made him cry more. Didn't anyone care about him? If his own father hated him, then surely everyone else did. Why would his father do this to him? Didn't anyone love him? The thought of Alyss, the kind, caring mother she had been made him cry harder. She had loved him. But she had been dead for a long time. Charlie. Charlie had loved him... Then he had gotten him killed. Charlie had only gotten to live for 11 years. Why had he done that?! Why was he so careless? If only he had stayed, Charlie would still be alive... His heart felt like it was being ripped out of his chest at the thought of Charlie. He had always been such a sweet boy, always putting others first and standing up for those who were bullied at school. He and Roach had been so close. Closer than normal brothers were. They loved each other more than anything... Then Roach made a stupid move and got Charlie killed. He hated himself for that.

He screamed when a knife seemed to appear out of nowhere and stabbed him in the shoulder. His voice was already hoarse from all the screaming he had done yesterday. Now it felt like he had drunk a gallon of acid. The knife in his shoulder twisted and he screamed again, louder than last time. The sound was cut off when he accidentally bit his tongue and blood filled his mouth. He spit it into the darkness... coincidentally right where John's face was.

"YOU FUCKING DUMBASS!" John yelled as he wiped the blood from his face.

He savagely ripped the knife from his shoulder and slashed him across the face with it. Then he threw the knife to the floor and started punching Roach, putting all of his strength behind each blow. It hurt. It hurt so bad that Roach just wanted to die, if only for the pain to stop. Luckily for him, he passed out after 15 minutes of it.

* * *

 **Day Five...**

Ghost laid on his usual table. They never moved him from it. If they needed to take him somewhere, they just rolled the table to wherever they needed to take him. It was weird here, though. Usually when a soldier got captured, the person who captured them asked them things about their team. Like where their base was and who was on their team. Dan hadn't asked him a single question in all the five days that he'd been here. He was beginning to wonder if they just tortured for the hell of it...

His head snapped toward the door when he heard who he assumed was Dan walk in. He still had the blindfold on, which annoyed the shit out of him. Dan laughed and he sighed defeatedly. Looked like it was time for another round of torture. He wished they wouldn't. He was already covered in bruises, blood, and dirt, had several broken ribs, a bunch of cuts, most of which needed stitches, and a broken wrist. He was exhausted from the lack of sleep and malnourished because he hadn't eaten in five days... which totally sucked. He was a mess.

"I made you something new..." Dan said, the excitement clear in his voice.

Dread surged through his body. He didn't want anything, especially not if it was from Dan. Dan had been injecting him with poisons for the past five days that caused hallucinations and he absolutely _loathed_ it. Everything he had seen with the poison in his system was about Roach. So far, he had seen Roach gutted and fed to dogs, ripped apart, stabbed, drowned to death, raped, and shot. He didn't think he would be able to stand another second of it.

Dan saw his reaction and said, "This one's different. That's why we're experimenting, dumbass."

 _Ugh... I hate experiments..._

He shuddered and jumped when he felt a pair of hands turn his head away and start untying the blindfold. After a few moments it was off and he felt sort of relieved. He opened his eyes half way and closed them again. His eyes were crusty and gross. He couldn't see either, which didn't help.

"Don't get excited, it's going back on after we're done experimenting."

He flinched again when he suddenly felt something cold and wet dab at his eyes. After a moment he realized that Dan was cleaning them off... what the fuck?

"I'm not being nice, I need you to be able to see for the experiment."

 _Oh, that's why._

When Dan was done, he opened his eyes again. They felt a lot better this time. He could see, too. He turned to look at Dan, who was preparing a syringe filled with some type of reddish shit. He didn't like the looks of that stuff... Dan sat down in the rolling chair by the table and rubbed his arm with alcohol, then injected the liquid into his arm. It stung and he winced and squirmed uncomfortably. Dan smirked and put the empty syringe on the desk behind him.

At first he didn't feel anything. But after a few moments, it kicked in and he screamed and writhed on the cold table. It felt like fire. It was almost as if his blood was the oil and the poison was the fire, setting everything in its path alight. All he could think of was when Shepherd had tried to have him and Roach burned alive. He could actually _feel_ the unbearable heat as the fire ate away at him, going through layers of flesh and eventually reaching the bone within. He couldn't stand it. After the incident with Shepherd, both he and Roach had issues with fire. They both avoided it whenever possible and he couldn't even stand being around it, much less burning to death in it.

"Huh. Well, at least it works. Haha, it feels like fire doesn't it?" Dan asked in amusement.

Ghost felt tears running down his cheeks, but even those were boiling hot. The more he cried, the more it hurt, but he just couldn't stop. The pain was too bad. He looked down at his arm and his eyes widened in terror when he saw fire climbing up it. The smell of burning skin was thick in the air as he screamed and thrashed. He looked further down and saw the rest of his body engulfed in flames.

"Sadly, the poison's effects only last about 10 minutes. But I'm working on another one that'll be even more fun! It should be ready soon..."

He could feel his whole body burning and when he looked down, he could see his flesh melting and feel it running down his legs like wax from a burning candle.

Could this day get any worse?

* * *

 **A/N: So, tough times for Ghost and Roach. I plan on having next chapter be another one with torture in it, then I'll probably do a time skip... unless you guys want more torture? I dunno, I feel like you guys are getting bored with all the torture. Please review and tell me! I DO listen to you guys, believe it or not. I really do. Speaking of which, someone wanted a Roach/Ghost pairing. And before anyone complains, in this story they are _really_ close to the same age. Literally, there's a two year difference (Ghost is 21). So, does anyone want a Roach/Ghost pairing? I'll do it if you guys want me to! If some of you do and the rest don't, I will probably just make another story where they have a pairing, that way everyone's happy. But anywho, please review and tell me if you want more torture or a time skip and if you want a Roach/Ghost pairing or no! TELL MEEEEE! :)**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: Wooohoooo! I can't believe we finally reached chapter 30! Yay! Btw, I'm so proud of you guys! I got so many reviews for chapter 29! You should've seen how happy I was!**

 ***Has mini celebration***

 **Okay, lol I'm done. So, the majority of you wanted a Roach/Ghost pairing... so I suppose I have to do one now! BUT not** ** _right now._** **They're still kinda captured right now... so yeah, we can't do it now. BUT I SHALL DO IT LATER! After they are rescued... and somewhat healthy! Haha, but be warned... I've never done a pairing. Plz don't be too harsh when I start that... BUUUT I do read fanfics with guy/guy (god I feel weird saying that) pairings, so I have plenty of references. Don't judge me peoples! I'm sorry...**

 ***Mini insane moment***

 **BUT ROACH AND GHOST ARE JUST SO FUCKING CUTE AND I CAN'T STAND NOT HAVING THEM TOGETHER! AHHHHHHH!**

 **Goodbye, hope I didn't scare you all away with my craziness.**

* * *

 **One Week Later...**

Soap couldn't believe it. They finally had a lead. After 2 weeks of nothing, they had _finally_ found something. At first they hadn't had anything to go on, so they were forced to go on recon ops, combing through as much territory as possible. They had started at their location and fanned out, the Ghosts covering one side while the remaining 141 members covered the other. Unlike all the other days, today they found something. Well, the Ghosts did, rather. It was early morning and they had just landed in Vermont, a bit north of the border.

"I hope we find them soon. I'm starting to feel like they're _actually_ gone." Logan sighed sadly.

"They'll live. Those two are a few of the toughest people I've ever seen, and you know I've seen a lot of people." Hesh smiled.

"Yeah, that's true. Then again, dumbasses _do_ tend to meet a lot of people..."

"Oi! I'm not a dumbass!"

"No, you're _my_ dumbass."

Hesh facepalmed.

"Would you two stop flirting?! We're supposed to be looking for Roach and Ghost, not to mention the fact that you're _brothers_. Brothers aren't supposed to flirt. It's gross." Keegan said, making a face.

Riley barked in agreement.

"Hehe, even Riley agrees." Kick giggled.

"Shut up. If I get shot in the face because you guys are being too loud, I'm gonna haunt all your asses." Merrick growled.

That was warning enough for them. The rest of the walk was quiet, until Kick spotted something.

"Hey," He said, whacking Merrick's arm to get his attention. When he had it, he pointed in the direction of what he had seen.

Guards. Two of them, as far as he could see. They seemed to be patrolling the area... the area right outside of a base. He looked through his binoculars and could just barely see the tip of a building through the trees.

"You think that's the place?"

"It would be a logical place to go. It's not incredibly far from our base, yet not close either. This definitely wouldn't be the first place I'd come to look for them." Keegan said evenly.

"Same. Let's move up some, get a better view of the place." Merrick said.

 **20 Minutes Later...**

They had found a nice vantage point and were finally able to get a good look at the place. The building was one story, but its size made up for it. It could've been two stories, they didn't know if it had anything underground. There weren't many windows... or doors, for that matter. Probably to keep certain people from escaping. They could see more guards now, too.

"I count 20 on the outside." Hesh sighed.

"Yeah... do you guys think this is the place?" Logan asked, his eyes switching back and forth between them.

"It could be, it's got the look of somewhere where you would keep someone locked up. But... I haven't seen any proof that they're here yet..."

That's when someone else emerged from the base. Logan and Hesh's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Well, what do ya know. It's that Mark Thompson guy..." Logan said with a smirk.

"That proof enough for ya, Merrick?" Hesh asked.

Merrick nodded. "I'd say so. Let's get the rest of the 141 over here. Then we can finally get those two back."

The rest of them nodded and they contacted the 141, then went back to the exfil point to wait for them.

* * *

 **Several Hours Later...**

Ghost was still having trouble breathing. It took a large amount of effort just for him to pull a breath in. It felt like there was pressure in his chest that made it difficult. Every once in a while, Dan gave him some moldy bread and water, just enough to keep him alive. That was the only time the gag and blindfold were removed. But he only had 2 minutes to eat everything he could with a broken wrist. His right wrist was broken and Dan refused to free more than one of his hands at a time. Moving it was extremely painful, picking things up even more so. He never got to eat much... asshole.

Everything hurt. He couldn't stand it. He lost track of how long they'd been here. He hadn't seen Roach since the day they got captured and that scared the shit out of him. Every day, at least once a day for the past two weeks, he was forced to sit outside and listen to his best friend scream and cry while God knows what went on in that tiny room. Of all the things that Dan had done to him, that was the worst form of torture that he had experienced. He was so worried about Roach. He had been locked in that tiny room for about a week now. John took him out sometimes, then he would torture him until he was unconscious and put him back in the room. Then he woke up in there and freaked out. It was the same every time.

Ghost all but jumped when he heard footsteps. No no no NO! Not again! He could barely breathe as it was! Couldn't that sick bastard just leave him alone for one day?!

"Hey Ghost~" Dan sang as he practically skipped into the room.

He was holding a machete. Not that Ghost knew that, he still had the blindfold on. Dan waved it around like a kid with a toy.

"Let's have some f-"

He was interrupted by the alarms going off.

"Shit." He hissed.

His radio crackled to life and John's voice could be heard.

"Dan, come meet me in Gary's room. We're leaving."

"Yes sir."

Ghost stopped breathing. His heart might have even stopped. They couldn't take Roach. Not _Roach._ He could only imagine what those two would do to him. He thrashed, _needing_ to get out of here. He had to save Roach. If they took him with them, he would probably never see him again. He couldn't stand the thought of it.

Dan smirked and said, "Bye, Ghost. I'll say goodbye to Gary for you."

* * *

 **A/N: Hahaha, I'm so cruel. Dont worry guys, I have a plan. No, it doesn't include deaths... maybe _near_ deaths, but not deaths. Luke will be here soon! I love him. :)**

 **P.S.- I worked really hard on this chappie! Please review!**


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N: Haha, I've been updating this story constantly... it's because I have no life, lol.**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse.***

 **Enjoy the angst! :)**

* * *

Dan ran through the winding hallways that led to Gary's room. Gunfire rang throughout the base as his men flooded the halls, heading for the front of the building where the threat was. After several minutes, he finally reached his destination. John was standing outside the door waiting, an unconscious and handcuffed Roach in his arms.

"What took you so long?" He snapped.

"Sorry, the hallways were crowded and I was also trying to avoid getting shot in the face." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

John rolled his eyes and started down the hallway, toward the back door. He followed silently behind. He couldn't stop staring at Roach. He looked... well, _awful_. His broken arm was painted with bruises of every color and really swollen, as was his foot. It was laying at a weird unnatural angle and was definitely broken. He was covered in blood, bruises, and cuts, some long and deep, others small and shallow. His wrists and ankles were both _really_ torn up. In fact, there was still fresh blood oozing from them. His breathing was shallow and raspy, so Dan could safely assume that he had broken a few ribs. The kid was a mess.

Dan ran ahead of John and held the door open for him. The older man muttered a quiet 'thanks', but didn't say anything else. They speed walked down the fire escape and entered the woods. They always kept a helicopter hidden a mile or two from their base in case of emergencies such as this. The snow crunched under their feet as they continued to move at a steady pace. The trees looked like tall dark skeletons in contrast to the fluffy white snow covering the ground. The air was frigid, but it cleared their lungs and felt fresh. It was nice. The gunfire in the background kind of ruined the effect, but it was still pretty peaceful because now they were far from the action. Now the gunfire was just an echo in the distance. After a while of walking, Gary woke up with a pain filled moan.

Dan shot John a look. "Did you not sedate him?"

"No, he was out when I picked him up. I have sedatives with me, though. I'll knock him out when we get to the heli, maybe before then if he gets annoying."

"That's fine. How far away is the helicopter, anyways?"

"We're almost there, we've gone 2 miles from the base and I remember hiding it 3 miles away when we first arrived." John said with a shrug.

Dan nodded and continued on. Gary was panicking. First of all, why the _fuck_ was he upside down? He was gonna puke. Whoever was carrying him was moving way too fast... Then a thought reached his half-functional brain. Why were they outside? Why was there gunfire in the distance? Suddenly it all came together, hitting him in the face like a blow from a sledgehammer. His team had finally come to save him and Ghost... and he was being taken away!

NO NO NO NO! He couldn't let that happen! Not when freedom was so close... His friends were _so_ damn close and he couldn't even get to them! He screamed as loud as his hoarse voice could manage, which sadly wasn't very loud, but it was worth a shot. He fought, lashing out with his uninjured leg and screaming louder when it jostled his broken foot. He didn't care, though. He _had_ to escape!

John's temper flared and he roughly threw him to the ground, following him down with a sedative ready in his hand. He stabbed the needle into Gary's neck and injected the drug into him before the younger man had time to struggle. Gary yelped in surprise and pain as the needle was stabbed roughly into his neck, coincidentally right where a bruise was. It _hurt._ Although he didn't have much time to dwell on it before exhaustion hit him like a bus, efficiently throwing him into the land of unconsciousness.

* * *

Ghost was scared shitless. Gunfire was everywhere. The worst part was, he couldn't even see what was going on. That really bothered him. But what bothered him even more was the fact that he knew that with each passing second, Roach was being taken farther and farther away from him. He couldn't even move, much less go after him. Damn these restraints... He wanted nothing more than to rip John and Dan's heads off with his bare hands, although he knew that would be much too quick a death for such horrible people. No, if he ever got hold of those two, he and Roach would torture them mercilessly for months. He promised himself that.

Another gun was fired and he flinched, shouting curses through the gag as pain coursed through his entire body. He didn't know how long he laid there, but it felt like days. At one point, he thought he heard helicopter rotors but he wrote it off as his wild imagination. Eventually the gunfire died down and he was so worried that he physically _ached._ Or that could've just been all of his injuries... who knows? After a while, he heard voices. Then footsteps as they got closer to his position.

 _Oh shit..._

Did they come back? His first instinct was to scream and try to get away. Every time he had heard footsteps in the past two weeks, it had been Dan coming for another round of torture. Now when he heard footsteps, the memory was branded into his mind and a negative reaction was inevitable. Panic swelled in his chest, making it even harder to breathe than it already was. The footsteps grew louder until they came into the room. There were several gasps and surprised yelps. His breathing hitched and his heart pounded furiously in his chest.

 _I'm going to die..._

"Ghost!" A familiar voice yelled, coming closer.

Suddenly there were hands. Everywhere. Some removing the blindfold and gag, while others tried to get the restraints to open.

"Damn it. How the fuck are we supposed to get these off?"

"Maybe there's a button? Or a key...?"

"There's no keyhole, you dumbass."

"..."

"Ghost. Ghost, do you know where Roach is?" Someone right above him asked.

His eyes shot open, only to see Dan looming over him with a sadistic smirk on his face. He yelped and flinched in alarm, tears of fear already filling his eyes. He didn't want any more torture! He was done! He couldn't deal with any more!

"N-n-nooo... no more! Leave m-me alone!' He cried, tears running down his cheeks.

"Don't cry! It's okay... we're gonna get you out of here, alright?" A voice said as a hand wiped away the tears on his cheeks. It was kinda pointless, as new ones immediately replaced them.

Someone stroked his hair in an effort to get him to calm down, but it didn't work. He couldn't breathe. The harder he tried, the worse it got. His lungs burned with the need for oxygen. He couldn't stop crying. He just wanted Dan to go the fuck away! He wanted to be with Roach and all of his friends again... but instead Dan was here and Roach was gone.

 _I fucking hate life._

* * *

 **A/N: Haha, that was so angsty. Ghost was so upset... I almost feel bad for him. Well, Roach is gone but I promise he'll be back soon! Please review~**


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Yay... thanks for all the reviews, guys! Speaking of which...**

 **Axis: Oi! I totally DON'T ignore you! It's just that I already have a plan, and that's how Luke comes into the story. So of you want Luke to come, then you just have to let me steal baby Roach for a while. Wow, that sounded wrong. ;)**

 **Boopem: Lol, quit freaking out! Omg! Pls don't kill me... I don't think I'll be able to finish the story if I'm dead... or do a Roach/Ghost pairing. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would trust me in the first place, there's really no reason to! I AM HAVING FUN WITH YOUR BABIES! *sigh* Why does everything I say sound weird? Damn it. Anyways, don't die! He'll be back soon... like real soon... hehehe...**

 **You two need to get accounts! Like seriously! Being able to PM you guys would make my life easier...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my fantastic muse!***

* * *

Dan sighed as he looked out the open doors of the helicopter. It was so peaceful up here. They had just gotten off the ground and could now see what was going on at their base. Well... sort of. Everyone looked like little dots. Not that there were many left. Only a few, and they had no idea if they were on their side or the enemy's.

 _Probably the enemy's._

They didn't have the most well trained soldiers, anyways. They mostly just kept them around for a distraction when they needed to escape, which worked well, as it had now. His stomach lurched as John flew the helicopter just a _bit_ too close to a tree. He wasn't the best flyer, only knowing enough to get by. Dan was the same, but he usually let John drive because he had to make sure the captive didn't do anything stupid. Then again, their current captive was sleeping and wouldn't be waking up for a couple more hours. He _couldn't_ do anything stupid. He turned to look at Gary. The young man was sleeping quietly in the backseat. He almost looked cute beneath all the dirt and blood...

 _BANG!_

He yelled in surprise at the sudden impact and nearly fell from the helicopter. The world began to spin and he had absolutely no idea what to do. John didn't either. There were loud beeping noises and he was pretty sure the world was upside down. The helicopter lost altitude so fast that he was sure there was nothing they could've done, even if they _did_ know what to do. The impact when it hit the ground was way worse. He felt a stab of pain when his head came into contact with something incredibly hard, then everything went black.

 **About 30 Minutes Later...**

"...Dan! Dan, wake... up!"

A distant voice called. Someone grabbed his shoulders and shook them. He groaned and sluggishly moved away. Then someone smacked him. That woke him up.

"Dan! C'mon, wake the fuck up! We have to go!" John yelled, grabbing his 2nd in command by the arms and dragging him away from the wreckage.

Everything was blurry. Nothing was clear. The trees were large, swaying blobs of green and brown. John's face was a blob of tan. Everything else was just... white.

 _What the hell happened?_

He found his footing after a few minutes and managed to help John some. Then he thought about Gary. Where was he?

"Where... w-where's Gary?" He stuttered.

"We're leaving him behind. The little shit will die out here anyways. He'll freeze to death before anyone can find him."

Dan simply nodded. He didn't like it, but they didn't really have another option. It was either him or them. And they chose him.

* * *

 **About an Hour Later...**

Roach's eyes fluttered open. It was _cold._ Way too cold. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was... John knocking him out. Oh shit. He looked around and immediately realized that he was in a helicopter. Then he smelled something that sent his mind reeling into panic. Smoke. Smoke meant fire. He couldn't stand fire. Not after what happened with Shepherd.

He looked around and screamed like a girl when he saw how close the fire was. And it was still coming. The door in front of him was open and he scrambled to get out. Pain ran through his body, but he currently didn't give a shit. He wiggled forward, as that was the only thing he _could_ do. He was still handcuffed. He was shaking all over from being in the cold with practically no clothes on for entirely too long. It didn't help him move any faster and he was annoyed that he couldn't stop. Smoke filled the air, burning its way into his lungs and choking him. He coughed, unintentionally dragging more smoke into his lungs. The flames licked at his bare feet, causing his eyes to fill with tears as he continued to wriggle his way out of the deathtrap. He swore he would never go in a helicopter again. No no no.

He was about halfway out now, his torso touching the freezing snow that covered the ground, his other half still escaping the flames. It was almost ironic, how one half of his body was freezing while the other burned. His whole body felt like it was on fire, but he knew it wasn't. His injuries flared with pain but he kept going. He gasped in the fresh air, but his throat still burned. It was almost as if the smoke had ignited a mini fire in there. He gagged at the mere thought of it.

 _Get away from the fire... Get away from the fire... Get away from the fire..._

His legs were finally free of the flames. He kept going until he couldn't move anymore, which sadly was only a few feet away from the wreckage. He was exhausted and everything hurt so bad... He was shaking really hard at this point and that sapped all the energy from him. Everything was white. He was sure he was gonna die. He was all alone, out in the middle of nowhere. He didn't have any clothes and it was below freezing. He was so hurt that he couldn't even stand up, much less walk. He could barely even breathe. After a while... a sound came to his cold ears. The sound of footsteps. Then a face came into his line of vision. It looked familiar... It was definitely someone he knew but he was too out of it to pinpoint who it was.

The person was tall, with light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He was wearing several layers of clothes, as well as a hat and scarf.

"Oh shit. Gary? How the hell..." He said, clearly at a loss for words.

He knelt down beside him and looked him over, taking off his jacket as he did so. He muttered a few things that Roach couldn't hear and wrapped his jacket around him. It was so warm. He leaned down and gathered Roach's practically weightless body into his arms. Roach wanted to protest, but he was exhausted and whoever this person was, they were taking him somewhere. Maybe somewhere warm... He just knew that the person wasn't John or Dan, therefore it was okay.

* * *

Ghost was a mess. He wouldn't stop crying and he was close to the point of hyperventilating. He was gonna make himself sick if he didn't stop. They couldn't even _find_ Roach, who supposedly had been dragged away by John and Dan. They had searched the whole base. He was gone, which pissed them all off. They felt really bad too, because Ghost kept asking about him. They told him he was fine, but even as out of it as he was, he could see right through it. In the end, they had to leave without Roach. They had searched everywhere, even some of the surrounding territory, but they needed to get Ghost out of there if they wanted him to survive. He was in bad shape.

"Ghost... c'mon, don't cry. You're gonna make yourself sick." Toad begged, sitting beside the cot as the helicopter took off.

Archer was looking him over. It was bad. He was covered in cuts and bruises, a huge cut on his left leg going all the way from his knee to his ankle. It was infected, as were many of the others. His right wrist was broken, along with several ribs. He had finger shaped bruises around his throat where someone had choked him. He was covered in blood and dirt as well. He hadn't eaten that much in the past two weeks and had severe malnutrition. And just to add it to the list, he was hyperventilating. Archer would've sedated him, had he not been so unstable.

"Would somebody please calm him down?! I swear if he pukes..." Archer sighed, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid.

"We've been trying ever since we found him! He won't!" Toad whined.

"Well do _something_! I can't work on him if he stops fucking breathing! I can't sedate him either or he might not wake up, so get creative."

"What the bloody hell do you expect me to do?!"

"Talk to him!"

"I'VE BEEN DOING THAT."

"Oi! Stop fighting! You're stressing him out!" Merrick yelled.

Ghost flinched at the loud noise, his headache pounding louder in his ears.

"He already _is_ stressed out!"

Merrick sighed deeply and walked over to them, grabbing the cot and dragging it over to the rest of the Ghosts in the back of the helicopter. Keegan and Kick started working on cleaning him up while Logan tried to calm him down. The 141 sat and watched with guilty expressions. They were just so worried about Roach and whether Ghost was gonna survive or not, that they had lost their focus.

Ghost had calmed down a bit and wasn't crying as much anymore... until Keegan tried to give him morphine. He freaked out when he saw the syringe. He couldn't see very well because he had been blindfolded for two weeks, but he could see enough to recognize the shape of a syringe. He started thrashing and crying, whining about poisons.

"Nooo! P-please no... no more p-poison! Leave me al-lone..."

He swung his uninjured arm out, nearly punching Kick in the face. Logan grabbed him and pinned him to the bed, giving Keegan time to give him the morphine. That only freaked him out more.

"Shhh, Ghost it's just morphine."

Ghost didn't seem to hear him though. He was shaking and crying and they all felt awful. Eventually he fell asleep while they were working on him. They could tell he was still uneasy, though. He was constantly tensing when someone touched him and relaxing when the hands moved away. Soap was deep in thought. Ghost was the tough one on the team, he never cried. But now he had only _just_ stopped after crying for nearly an hour.

And he couldn't help but think, _If Ghost, the toughest one on the team is this upset, how bad will Roach be?_

* * *

 **A/N: Ahhh, so sad. Don't worry, Roach will be back. Any guesses on who found him? ARE THERE ANY?! Lol, you should totally review... if you want the next chapter...**


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Hey! I GOT REVIEWS! YAAASSSS! And thank you Axis for getting an account! MY LIFE IS SO MUCH EASIER NOW! Boopem I'M STILL WAITING FOR YOU TO GET ONE!**

 **ON WITH THE STORY!**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse! Whoop whoop!***

 **P.S.- There's new people in this chapter! I have one shots with both of them in them- It's Cold is the one I'm talking about** **. If you wanna read it then you could get more info on their characters.**

 **Mark description- 20 years old with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. He was Roach's best friend in high school, they always hung out together. He met Roach in 8th grade. He is very cheerful most of the time.**

 **Luke description- 24 years old with light blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He was an ICU Nurse for around 3 years and is very good with medical stuffs. He's known Roach since he was 12. When Roach was 14 he ran away and Luke let him live with him because he hated how badly John treated him.**

* * *

Luke ran inside and shut the door, locking it shortly after. Mark appeared from the back room and his eyes grew huge at the sight of Gary.

"Holy shit! You didn't say he looked this bad..." He said, rushing forward to take Gary to the back room.

"You change and get cleaned up."

Luke nodded and quickly changed into a clean set of clothes, washing his hands before heading to the back room. Gary was awake now, his cheeks tear stained and wet. He was shaking really hard. Mark already had an IV in his arm and was currently trying to clean out the large stab wound in his shoulder. Without much success. Gary wouldn't sit still and Mark couldn't hold him and clean at the same time.

"Luke, I need help..." He whined.

"You take his temperature?"

"Yeah... it's 88.5. He also has a concussion."

Luke sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Gary had moderate hypothermia.

 _At least he doesn't have severe..._

"Alright, first things first. We need to get him warmed up. Go get a couple washcloths soaked in warm water and a clean set of warm clothes that look like they will fit him. Also start a warm bath. Make sure the water isn't hot. If we get him warm too quickly he could die."

Mark nodded and ran off. Luke sat by the hospital bed Gary was laying on and started gathering supplies. The younger man watched him like a hawk, making sure he stayed well away. He was so pale, almost blending in with the white sheets below him. Well, his face anyways. The rest of him was covered in blood. Luke was sure he couldn't see properly, not with all the crying and shaking he was doing. His thoughts were interrupted when Gary leaned over the rail of the bed and retched, emptying the small contents of his stomach onto the floor. He leaned forward and rubbed his back, telling him it was okay and he was gonna be fine. Gary laid back down after a few minutes of dry heaving and cried more. Luke ruffled his hair and he flinched, leaning away from his hand. It really had him wondering what the hell happened to the kid...

"Damn it." Luke sighed, looking at the foul smelling mess on the floor.

At least there wasn't much to clean up. He cleaned it up and Mark came back with the stuff he asked for, giving him a weird look when he saw the puke covered dish rag in the trash can.

"Did h-"

"Yes he did. C'mon, hurry." He replied in an abrupt tone.

They took off his wet clothes and dabbed at his cheeks, neck, and chest with the warm washcloths, unsuccessfully trying to avoid touching the wounds that covered his body. His crying slowed down a bit but the shaking didn't. He was mumbling things and they both caught the word 'ghost' several times. They wondered what that was supposed to mean, but didn't comment. After about 20 minutes, they checked his temperature again. It had climbed to 92.

"Well, now he needs a bath. It'll warm him up more and help clean out some of the wounds, although we'll still have to use peroxide after we're done. Some of them need stitches too... actually a lot of them do. Especially his leg and that stab wound." Luke mused.

"Shouldn't we take him to a hospital? I mean... this is _bad._ He would have a much better chance of survival if we went to a hospital."

"We can't. People will want to know what happened and I have no idea what went down. Plus he hates hospitals. He'll just run away as soon as he wakes up. You remember all the times he's done that. I'm sure his opinion of hospitals hasn't changed."

Mark ran his hand through his blonde locks and tried to sort out his scrambled thoughts. Luke turned away and walked back over to Gary, ending the conversation. Gary was sitting there quietly crying and looked up when he heard Luke's footsteps get close. Luke reached down and removed the IV from his arm and picked him up. The younger man yelped in surprise and pain as his wounds were jostled. He didn't move a muscle, barely even daring to breathe. Mark followed along behind them. Luke set him down for a moment and slipped his boxers off, (he was gonna have to change later anyways) then lowered him into the warm water. Gary gasped, his unbroken hand shooting out and latching on to his arm. It reminded Mark of a scared cat when you tried to give it a bath. He whimpered and tears started flowing down his cheeks again.

"Shhh, it's okay. You'll feel better soon, I promise."

"H-hurts..." He cried, tightening his grip on his arm.

"I know, I know. But you gotta get warmed up and... well, clean."

Gary didn't say anything else, he just cried. It took them around 10 minutes to get all the blood and dirt off of him. Mark washed his hair too, then took him out and changed him into clean clothes but left his shirt off, before putting him back in bed, reinserting the IV while he was at it. Meanwhile, Luke was getting things ready. They had a lot of work to do, including cleaning out all of the wounds, stitching up all of the wounds that needed it, resetting his arm, leg, and possibly his nose, giving him his medicine, and watching his temperature.

Gary wasn't crying anymore, just sitting there watching them with a blank look. He was still shaking though, which was odd. He was warm enough now that he shouldn't still be shaking so hard. Luke hated to have to do this, especially after he had only _just_ stopped crying. But he had to because he wanted his friend to recover.

"We'll start with resetting his arm, then his leg. After that I'll take a look at his nose and see what needs to be done. We'll clean out the wounds and start stitching, although I'll probably sedate him before the stitches. You know how he is with those."

Mark nodded and Luke thought of something.

"Does he have any pain meds in him? We might wanna give him some..."

Mark nodded again and said, "Yeah, he's already got some. It's not the strong stuff cause I didn't want to knock him out, but it should take the edge off."

"Alright, let's go."

Gary warily looked up when they walked up to the bed. He went to sit up but Mark pushed him back down, holding on to his uninjured arm and shoulder. He whined when Luke touched his broken arm, feeling around to see how bad the break was. Then he put pressure on it, adding more until the bone went back into place with a loud pop. Gary screamed and started crying again. The deep cuts on his arm only added to the pain when it was touched. He splinted it, just to hold it in place until they had time to replace it with a plaster cast. Then he moved to his foot and did the same. Gary was getting dangerously close to hyperventilating.

"Talk to him, would you? He's gonna make himself sick... again."

Mark nodded.

Luke moved forward and went to touch Gary's nose, but he moved his head away and fought against the hands that pinned him to the bed. The older man retracted his hand and moved away, searching for the peroxide. He would fix Gary's nose later, when he was out. He didn't want to get bit right now, and he of all people knew that he _would_ bite if you put your hand too close to his mouth. He brought the peroxide over and made sure Mark had a good grip on him before pouring it on a few of the larger wounds. They angrily bubbled up with reddish foam almost as soon as the scream left Gary's mouth. He thrashed and fought, his breath coming in pained gasps as rivers of tears raced down his cheeks.

"I-it hurts! Please stop...! M-make it st-stop!"

"Shhh, you're okay. I'm sorry man, but we gotta get these cleaned out. You'll get infections if we don't."

Gary ignored him, continuing to scream and cry until they were done cleaning out all the wounds, which took a little over half an hour.

"Okay, what now?" Mark panted.

Both of them were covered in sweat from trying to deal with Gary, who was currently trying to stay awake even though he kept dozing off.

"We'll just sedate him, he could use the sleep and I don't think we'd be able to keep him still enough to get anything done if he stayed awake." Luke sighed.

Mark just nodded and leaned against the wall. He was tired. Luke got a syringe and filled it with a sedative before walking back over to Gary's bed. The poor kid was already sleeping, but would undoubtedly wake up if someone touched him. His eyes popped open when he felt the IV line move slightly. He was so tired that he just sat and watched while Luke injected the sedative into the IV line. He yawned and was asleep within seconds.

Meanwhile, back at the Ghosts' base in Pennsylvania, Ghost lay awake worrying about his best friend.

* * *

 **A/N: *Evil laugh* I'm so mean to the babies. More Ghost next chapter! You'll get to see what he's up to... well... he doesn't really do much. Mostly cries. Lol... review...**


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Hello everyone! In this chappie I will do some stuffs... I will try to get Roach back soon... Hehehe...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse!***

* * *

The Ghosts and the rest of the 141 sat outside the infirmary, waiting for news on Ghost. Everyone had been kicked out, even Archer and Toad. Apparently Ghost needed surgery, so they had been waiting for about 2 hours now. The 141 all stared intently at the door, hoping it would open but dreading the news that would come with it. No one dared to get up, not even to change or go to the bathroom... that is, until Soap's phone rang. He sighed and walked away to answer the call.

"What?" He snapped.

"...Is this John MacTavish?" A voice asked.

"Depends on who's asking."

"Yeah, well I just thought you might want to know that I found Gary."

He nearly dropped the phone in shock. He held onto it with shaking hands. Someone _had_ to be messing with him. Even if they found Gary, how would they have known to call him?

"W-what?"

"I found Gary, are you not one of his captains?"

"I am... b-but..." He stuttered.

"Well did you want him back?" The voice asked sarcastically.

Damn it. They were probably going to do that ransom shit and he didn't have time for that.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Luke Murray. I'm a friend of Gary's and he told me to contact you if anything bad happened involving him. I'm pretty sure this fits the bill."

"What did you do with him?"

"Ummm... I fixed him up. I would let you talk to him... but he's sleeping right now and trust me when I say, that kid needs all the rest he can get."

"Is he okay?" He asked, his voice cracking.

The others were looking at him, wondering what the hell he was talking about.

"Well... he's alive. He's hurt really bad and has moderate hypothermia, but he'll survive, I can promise you that. But I was wondering... what happened to him?"

"He was captured by a guy named... John, I think it was." There was a gasp on the other end of the line, but he missed it in his excitement.

"Where is he? We looked everywhere..."

"Northern Vermont. I can bring him back to you, but I need a location." The man sighed.

They talked for a few more minutes and it was arranged that Luke would bring him back in 2 days. Luke would also be staying with them for a while to make sure Gary didn't have any issues. They said goodbye and hung up.

"Who was that?"

"What's wrong?"

Everyone asked curiously.

"Someone... Someone found Roach..."

Everyone's eyes grew huge and they jumped up from their chairs.

"What?!"

"Where is he?!"

"Is he okay?!"

"What happened?!"

He put his hands up and told them to be quiet.

"A friend of his named Luke Murray find him. He's in northern Vermont right now."

"Is he okay?"

"Luke fixed him up, but he's hurt really bad and has moderate hypothermia."

"Wait... how did this guy know to call you?"

"Yeah, what if he's just messing with you?"

He shrugged and said, "He sounded sincere enough and if he's messing with me, then when he gets here I'll torture him to death."

"...When he gets here?"

"Yeah, he's bringing Roach back in 2 days."

* * *

Roach silently laid in the hospital bed, thinking about everything. He was still shaking, thanks to the hypothermia. It was 2:33 in the morning and he hadn't slept a wink. He couldn't. He felt so awful about everything. Tears came to his eyes when he thought about Ghost. His best friend had been hurt because of him. He felt like he was just a bother to everyone. The only thing he ever did was cause trouble. His team always had to come and rescue him, when really they shouldn't have to waste time on him like that. He was only ever going to be a bother. A burden that slowed everyone else down. The thought was like a knife, carving its way into his heart. It hurt. The tears slowly spilled down his cheeks. After a while, Luke came in to check on him. He did that every couple hours, which only made him feel more like a burden.

"Gary? Why are you still up?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.

Roach sniffled and shook his head in response.

"What's wrong?"

Luke came and used a hand to wipe the tears away as he sat down. He ruffled his hair with a smile, but Roach still didn't answer.

"Does something hurt?" He asked, glancing at the clock.

"N-n-no..." He answered, his voice wavering.

"Well then what's wrong? Is it something that happened in the past few days?"

"Mhmm." He hummed with a nod.

"Gary, I want you to be honest. Does... does it have to do with John?" He asked, trying to be careful with his choice of words.

Roach's head snapped up and he looked at him with tear filled eyes. He nodded and broke down, tears racing down his pale cheeks, not even reaching his chin before they were replaced by new ones. Luke sighed sadly and sat on the side of the bed, pulling Gary's shaking form into his arms and rubbing his back comfortingly.

"Shhh, it's okay. He's gone now and I won't ever let him get near you again."

He felt Gary nod into his chest. They sat there like that for a while. Gary was so upset. Luke knew why too, which only saddened him more. He knew how Gary thought, how his point of view was different from others in certain situations because of what he had experienced. He probably thought he was a burden to everyone. That he slowed them down and bugged them, which wasn't true at all. They loved him, phobias, insecurities, and all.

 _That's probably why he was crying, because he felt bad._

He felt tears gather in his own eyes at the thought. Gary had a tendency to blame himself for things that were unavoidable.

At around four in the morning, the crying and sniffling ceased and were replaced by soft snoring.

* * *

 **A/N: *cries hysterically* THAT WAS SOOO SAAAADDDD! OMG I'M GONNA CRY SO HARD! WAAAAAAHHHHHH! IF YOU DON'T REVIEW I MIGHT JUST CRY MYSELF TO DEATH! T_** **T**


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N: Bleh... I feel like crap. So guys... you probs already saw but I published a story called Roach and Ghost Oneshot Collection. That's Roach/Ghost slash... Personally, I think it sucked, but people have different opinions so... yea. I mean, it was somewhat fluffy but not very much. But you should totally go R &R because it's only got 2 reviews so far. please! Please! PLEASE!**

 **Btw- Luke left Mark back in Vermont to watch the house. Plus, Mark was busy anyways, but he'll probably be back sometime later. No promises though...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse!***

* * *

 **Two Days Later...**

The Ghosts and captains of the 141 sat in the rec room, waiting for Luke to arrive. Toad and Archer were with Ghost in the infirmary. Ghost was on sedatives right now, but those two still wanted to stay with him.

"Soap... do you _really_ think he's gonna bring him? What if it's a trick?" Merrick asked apprehensively.

"I already told you guys, if he's fooling around then I'll torture him to death." He sighed, twirling his combat knife in his hands.

"Well yeah... but what if he blows up the fucking base?" Logan asked, his eyes growing wide.

"He's not gonna-"

He stopped when he heard what he quickly identified as helicopter rotors. He grabbed his P226 off the table next to him and stood.

"C'mon, he's here."

The rest of them stood and followed him outside, to where a heli was landing. They waited until the rotors slowed down before approaching it. A guy with light blonde hair who looked like he was in his mid 20s jumped out. When he walked up to them, they saw he had emerald green eyes.

"Hi, I'm Luke Murray." He said with a smile, holding out his hand.

None of them took it. After a minute he sighed and put it down.

"Where's Roach?"

"You mean Gary? I really did bring him, you know. I'm not fucking with you, he's in the heli." He said, rolling his eyes and gesturing to the helicopter.

Soap held his gun up and said, "You pull anything and I'll shoot you."

Luke raised his eyebrows.

"I bet you would." He said, giving him a look that said 'fuck off'.

The only reason Soap didn't hit him was because he was too busy looking at Roach, who looked like death had warmed over. He was asleep because Luke had sedated him before leaving, but he was shivering even though he was covered in blankets. His cheeks were flushed, and it looked like he had a fever. They could see hand shaped bruises around his throat where someone had choked him. Just seeing that made Soap's blood boil with anger.

"Damn he looks bad..." Logan whispered.

"Yeah, he looks like shit. At least he's back though." Keegan shrugged.

They were talking and Luke awkwardly stood behind them. Finally after about 10 minutes, one of them grabbed Gary and carried him inside. He followed close behind since he needed to get him settled in the infirmary. Once they got inside, it didn't take long to get there. The person set Gary down on a bed and looked him over with wide eyes.

"He's not as bad off as he looks." Luke said, getting an IV ready.

The person looked up and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, that's how it always is. I'm Keegan." He said, holding out his hand.

Luke paused in what he was doing to shake it.

"At least you'll shake my hand. All those other people avoided it like the plague." He laughed.

"It's just because you called out of nowhere offering to bring Roach back. We all thought you were messing with us."

"I know. I didn't mean for it to seem that way, but I didn't have any other way to contact you guys."

"I understand. So... when you're done here they'll probably want to see you, ask a bunch of questions and shit."

Luke nodded as he slid the needle into Gary's arm.

"I figured as much. Just let me get a heart monitor on him and we can go."

Keegan said okay and leaned against the wall while he waited. It didn't take long and soon they were on their way. When they reached the rec room everyone was in there waiting. It was very... odd. Everyone looked up when they came in. Luke sat down in an empty chair and sighed, waiting for the questions to come. After about a minute of silence, he laughed.

"Wow. You guys are a lively bunch, aren't you? Seriously, are you just gonna stare at me or do you have questions?"

There was a bit more silence while they were thinking of what to ask. They had so many questions that their thoughts were all over the place.

"Where'd you find him?" Price asked.

"Whatever dumbass that ran off with him crashed the helicopter. I saw black smoke, so I looked at his tracker and it said he was nearby. Then I basically just went over there and found him laying out in the snow beside a burning pile of wreckage."

"Wait. You have a tracker in him?" Hesh asked.

He nodded and said, "That kid was a lot of trouble at 15. I was trying to make sure no one killed him because he TP'd their house or screwed their girlfriend."

"Screwed their girlfriend?!" Logan shrieked.

"Yeah if someone pissed him off enough, he'd beat the shit out of them and go screw their girlfriend or sister." He shrugged, as if that was a normal reaction to anger.

"How? You can't just walk up to a girl and say, 'Hey, wanna fuck?'" Keegan said.

"He could. I'm not into guys but I've gotta say that when he was 15, he looked like a fucking model. I think I have a picture actually."

He dug around in his pockets until he found his wallet. After looking around in it for a minute, he found it. He passed it to Keegan, whose eyes nearly doubled in size when he saw it. Roach looked so different. He looked like he was 16 now, but in the picture he looked 13 even though he was 15. His hair was the same color as it currently was, but unlike the straight perfection it had now, it was an unruly mop of curls that fell into his eyes. His skin was pale and clear, devoid of the scars that now took up the space. His eyes were like gems, shining brightly with life. His teeth were the same as now, straight and white as snow. He was wearing a black jacket with a red scarf and snow boots. A red beanie that matched his scarf sat atop the curls. To put it shortly, he looked adorable. They passed it around the room, all of them shocked that it was the same person.

"Damn, he's cute." Logan said, staring at it in awe.

"Hey, don't get any ideas. Your boyfriend over there will miss you dearly." Kick smirked, pointing at Hesh.

"I'm not his boyfriend! I'm his brother, ewww!"

"Hehehe, come here hunny!" Logan squealed, jumping off the couch and chasing him around making kissing noises.

Hesh screamed in terror and ran away. Everyone laughed so hard it hurt. When they finally stopped, Luke looked around the room.

"So... ummm... I don't know any names..." He said awkwardly.

"Oh shit, sorry." Soap said, and they all introduced themselves.

Hesh and Logan came back and sat down, both panting. Then Merrick thought of something.

"Hey Luke, how long have you known Roach?"

"Oh God... since he was around 10 years old. But that was before he started living with me, which happened when he was 13."

"Why'd he live with you? Doesn't he have parents?"

Luke paled slightly and looked down.

"His mother died when he was 11. His father... well, that's for him to tell you. He probably won't though, the only reason I know is because I lived nearby and saw most of the shit that went on."

Everyone looked sad.

"Does he have any siblings?"

"Well... he did. He used to have a brother named Charlie." He said sadly.

He remembered Charlie. The kid was adorable, he was just like a mini version of Gary. An eerie silence filled the room. After a few minutes, he got up.

"I'm gonna go check on him." He muttered, walking out the door.

* * *

 **A/N: Waaaah, his past is so sad. You guys probably won't believe me, but I really did think up his past by myself. It's really... complex... and angsty, CAN'T YOU TELL I DID IT?! Lol, I know you guys probably miss Ghost about now. He'll be here next chappie, don't worry. Well, he'll be here as long as I get some reviews. If I don't get reviews there won't be a next chapter... for a long time... Hehehe! :)**


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N: Hello! Hehehe... drama is coming... ^~^**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse!***

* * *

After Luke left, they all just sat there talking about Roach.

"Damn, I wonder what happened to Charlie." Soap said, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"I know, I'm curious too. He's never mentioned family..." Price said.

"It's sad that his mom died when he was so young. I really want to know what went on with his father, though." Keegan muttered, leaning back into the couch.

"Same. Luke said he wouldn't talk about it though. Knowing him he'd probably say his father was dead and leave the room."

"No, he has a broken foot right now, he can't leave the room."

"Oh, yeah. That's true. We shouldn't bother him with it right now though, he just got back and stressing him out probably isn't a good idea." Hesh said thoughtfully.

"But... what would happen if we asked him?" Logan asked curiously.

"He'd probably have a panic attack. He doesn't like talking about that shit." Luke said, re-entering the room and sitting down.

"Oh, hi. How is he?"

"Still asleep. That kid sleeps like a hibernating bear."

"If you sedate him, yes. If he's asleep on his own, definitely not."

"That's true. I almost got stabbed last time I touched him while he was asleep..."

"Wait, how old was he when that happened?"

"Fourteen. He taught himself to fight when he was around 12 and has always slept with a knife in his hand since then." Luke said.

"Why'd he learn to fight when he was 12? What kind of a 12 year old is active enough to do that?" Merrick asked.

Most of the 12 year olds he'd seen were couch potatoes.

"Well... he and his father didn't exactly agree on... anything. They were always fighting, so he learned to fight so that he didn't get the shit beat out of him."

"Oh my god. That's awful. How the hell does he keep all this to himself?!" Kick said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Hey, what's his father's name?" Price asked, fire blazing in his eyes.

"Uh, no. No no no. And just in case you didn't hear, _no_. Be glad I told you anything." He said, stubbornly crossing his arms.

"Oh come on, it's just a name. What the hell would I do with a name?"

"Don't think I don't know that you'll track him down. I know plenty about all that stuff because of what Gary does." He said, waving a finger at him.

The Ghosts looked confused and Price explained.

"He's the intel/tech expert. He can track anyone down and learn everything about them with just a name. I've never seen anything he couldn't hack, either."

"Oh, I see." Keegan said with a nod.

"That's awesome, I'll have to ask him about that later." Logan said, his eyes shining with excitement.

Suddenly Archer and Toad walked in and sat down.

"I thought you were with Ghost?"

"We were, but we got tired of watching him sleep." Toad explained.

"Oh, I didn't know that was possible, but okay. Is he off the sedatives yet?" Price asked.

"Yeah, I just didn't want him to wake up and freak out when he realized Roach wasn't there. But he's back now, so he's off them. He should wake up soon."

"You know... with our luck, he'll wake up when we aren't there." Kick mused, putting his feet up onto the coffee table.

"Haha... ha... don't jinx it." Soap said, shooting him a look.

* * *

Ghost shoved at the annoying fog that surrounded him. It was official. He wished fog didn't exist. It had been here bugging the shit out of him for forever! It was _so_ horrible. This went on for what felt like hours. He needed to find Roach, damn it! The last time he heard from him, he was strapped to a table outside the tiny room those bastards had locked his friend in. He was terrified of what had become of his friend. He really missed him and was going insane with worry. The thought of never seeing him again made him nauseous. He yelled in anger and turned to shove at the fog again, but it was gone. Nowhere to be seen. Well shit.

He slowly drifted back into the land of the living. At first he just laid there. He would never admit to it, but he was genuinely afraid to open his eyes. What if he was still with Dan? He shuddered at the thought. No no no. That wasn't possible. The only way to find out was to look... so he cautiously opened his eyes. It took him a minute to realize this- but he couldn't see a thing. Not a single damn thing. What kind of fucked up trick was this?! He blinked frantically. Still nothing but darkness. He squinted and could see vague outlines of things, but no details. His eyes had been out of use for nearly two weeks because he had been blindfolded, so they would need a while to adjust to being used again.

He tried to sit up and pain raced through him so fast it stole his breath away. He slumped back down onto what he assumed was a bed. It felt like a bed... He dragged in a shallow breath and the strong stench of antiseptic and peroxide lingered in the air. He figured it was safe to assume that he was in the infirmary. Well, at least he was safe.

 _But what about Roach?_

He gasped and sat bolt upright, gritting his teeth against the white hot pain that seared through him. He had only _just_ kept himself from screaming, managing to dull it down to a whine instead. He looked around at the outlines of objects. This was going to be difficult. He hated the fact that he couldn't see. No. He _loathed_ it. But he had to find Roach. He was so worried. His worry for his friend overpowered his concern about his sight and he very slowly and carefully moved his legs toward the side of the bed. He went to move his arm, but gasped when something pulled back on it. He felt up his arm until his fingers touched the offending object- an IV port. He grabbed it and ripped it out. He didn't want people pumping shit into him! Especially not if it was poison...

He tried to flex his right hand, but something hard surrounded it, restricting his movement. He felt it and recognized it as a cast. He cringed at the memory of his wrist breaking with a loud snap. That had hurt. He flinched when his bare feet made contact with the cold floor. It was freezing. He leaned on the bed for support as he slowly stood... and fell on his ass just as soon as he put weight on his legs.

He did scream this time. When he hit the floor he just wanted to cry. A tear slipped from his eye. Oops, too late. Pain raced through his body, paralyzing him and keeping him on the floor. He couldn't get up, not even if he wanted to. (A/N: Hehe... he's fallen and he can't get up! Oh my god I'm awful, lol.) He didn't dare move in fear of causing more pain to come. Dots danced across his already shitty vision. Then he blacked out.

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe... I'm sorry... I have a habit of doing that to my characters when I don't know how to end a chapter, lol. I'm so mean and awful. Please review? PLEASE! :P Roach will wake up next chappie...**


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N: Hello peoples! I love you guys~**

 **Btw- This chapter will be silly and fluffy as f***. Yea... Roach and Ghost are kinda high on meds... so they say a bunch of random shit, lol. It's fun writing it, actually. It's almost like writing about drunk people. ;)**

 **WARNING- As I said, Roach and Ghost are practically high, therefore I am not responsible for their actions or what they say! Hehehe...**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse!***

* * *

 **2 Days Later...**

"Ghostie!" Roach squealed, holding his hands out and making grabby motions.

Everyone was sitting in the infirmary, hanging out with Roach and Ghost, both of whom were high on whatever med cocktail was pumping through their veins. They had moved them into the same room yesterday, so now their beds were right beside each other.

"My baby!" Ghost replied, doing the same with his hands... well, as much as he could with a broken wrist.

They were both acting like two year olds. It was kinda cute, but it was also very strange. It was so out of character for them to act this way... Roach turned and looked at Price with glazed eyes. He pointed to him.

"Out of my room, bitchy bitch." He said with a smile.

Price made a face. "Why do I have to leave?"

"Cause old bananas aren't allowed in ma rooooom." He sang in reply.

Everyone doubled over laughing.

"What the... fuck does... that mean?!" Logan said through gasps for breath.

"Don't ask me." Keegan said with a shrug.

"Oi! Don't be talking about my baby! HE'S MINE, BITCHES!" Ghost yelled.

"Heeeeeey! I'm not yours. I disowned you."

Ghost's eyes grew huge.

"Why would you ever do that?!"

"Cause I'm adorable." He said, smiling and poking his cheeks.

"But... but you can't disown me!"

"Already did, terd."

Ghost pouted and hid his face in his hands. Roach pried his hands away and kissed his cheek. Everyone's jaws dropped. They knew they were high, but not _that_ high.

"Yaaay, my baby still wuvs me!"

"Hey! No smooching in the infirmary!" Merrick said, pushing them further away from each other.

They both immediately put a hand out, reaching for each other and yelled, "HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE~"

Luke grabbed Roach's hand and forced it down.

"Oh my god! You're like a four year old!" He said with a smile.

"No bitch, get yer facts straight. I'm more like a two year old." He said seriously.

Ghost burst out laughing.

"A two year old?! No no no, you're more like a puppy."

"He has the attention span of a two year old though." Kick said.

"Damn straight." Roach said happily.

Suddenly Riley bolted through the door, heading straight for Roach's lap. Roach made a face when the dog licked him.

"Ewww, ya nasty."

"Hairy baby! C'mere baaaaby!" He said, reaching out a hand to pet Riley.

Riley barked and licked his hand. He screamed and wiped it on the bed.

"Ahhhhh! Shit! I'm infected!"

"Damn they really are high." Hesh said, raising an eyebrow.

"It's fuckin' hilarious, we should totally record it." Toad said, reaching for his phone.

Roach turned to glare at him.

"Have you seen how fast I can get a knife across a room? If you touch that phone, the next one will go through your head."

Toad's eyes tripled in size and he hurriedly retracted his hand.

"You're scary." He whined.

"No I'm not! I'm cute~"

Luke pinched his cheek.

"You used to be. Now you're mean."

"Owww!" Roach said, swatting his hand away.

"Don't touch my baby!" Ghost cried, hugging Roach and jumping back when Riley tried to lick him again.

"Hehehe..." Roach giggled.

"Get that beast out of your lap! You'll get a disease!"

"IT'S SO FLUFFY!" Roach yelled in an Agnes voice (from Despicable Me).

"Now!"

Roach sighed and shoved the dog off, then gave Ghost the bird.

"Rude."

"Mom! He's being mean to meeee!"

Everyone was confused.

"Roach, what-"

"MOM!" He yelled, pointing at Archer.

Archer's eyes widened.

"No. No no, just _no._ I am not your mother." He said, shaking his head.

"Mommy!" Roach and Ghost squealed.

"NOOOOO!" Archer yelled, running from the room.

They both laughed hysterically, as well as everyone else. Logan turned to look at Kick.

"What the hell did Archer give them?" He asked.

"I don't know, but I fucking love it. It's awesome." Kick laughed.

"Not for the first time, I'm concerned f-"

Roach covered his mouth and said, "Shhh. Old bananas aren't supposed to talk."

"I'm not an old banana!" Price cried, whacking his hand away.

Both of them looked past them and started laughing. They turned around to see a nervous Archer trying to re-enter the room.

"MOMMY'S BACK!" They squealed.

Archer sighed in defeat and left the room.

"You! You're a... a bunny!" Ghost said, pointing to Luke.

Luke shook his head and said, "Nope, I'm what's called a human. As for you... well I don't know what the fuck you are."

"But I know what you are. You're Charlie the Unicorn!" Roach yelled.

Roach and Ghost looked at each other, mischievous smiles on their faces.

"Oh shit, what are they gonna do now?" Toad asked, looking scared.

"Let's go to candy mountain, Charlie!" Roach said in a high pitched whispery voice.

"Yeah, candy mountain Charlie!" Ghost replied in the same voice.

"Woohooo!"

"No. There is no candy mountain." Price cut in.

"Shun the non-believer!"

"Shun!"

"Stop it!" Soap said, smiling and trying not to laugh.

"SHUUUUUNNNN!" They yelled together.

Roach looked at Luke and started giggling.

Luke made a face and said, "Okay, what is it?"

"Ghostie... I found the Banana King." He giggled.

Ghost giggled too. This went on for the next ten minutes and by the time they were able to stop, they both had the hiccups. Roach crawled over to Ghost's bed and laid down beside him with a yawn.

"Hey, who said you could sleep with him?" Price asked.

"The Banana King did." He replied, closing him eyes and snuggling up against Ghost.

Ghost pulled his blanket up to cover both of them and wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Are you guys really going t-"

"Shhh. You'll wake the Oomoo." Ghost whispered, his voice heavy with sleep.

Roach giggled before falling asleep. The rest of them looked at each other.

"Well, there goes our entertainment. What the hell are we supposed to do now?"

* * *

 **A/N: Oh my god that was... weird. I've never written anything so random in my life. Hehehe, hope you liked it. Please tell me if you want more chapters like this! Or if you hated it and never want me to do this again. Either way, PLEASE REVIEW! :D**

 **CHARLIE THE UNICORN IS AWESOME.**


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N: Hello~ Angst is coming, just to warn you guys. I don't know how I should have Roach reveal his past... life is hard. Don't misunderstand me! That's not happening this chapter! I meant for later... Eh, I'll think of something. Anyone got any ideas?**

 ***MyLittleRobin is my muse! Yay!***

* * *

Everyone was sitting in the rec room, laughing about what Roach and Ghost had said while they were high on meds. Those two were still sleeping, so everyone had left the infirmary after a while. Archer had said he was going to stop giving them those meds, if only so they wouldn't call him mommy anymore.

"Oh, come on! You can't stop! It's hilarious!" Toad whined, pulling at his arm.

"I'll give them different meds! I'm not having two crazies calling me mommy! No!"

"I love you mama." Toad whispered in his ear.

Archer flinched and glared at him, whacking him on the head.

"Owww! Doctors aren't supposed to hurt people!"

"Guys... be nice." Logan said through fits of laughter.

"Stop laughing Logan! You're gonna get the hiccups." Hesh said with a smirk.

He immediately stopped. He hated the hiccups. Luke looked at them and laughed, nearly spilling his drink.

"You spill that on me, I'll kill you." Soap warned.

Luke stuck his tongue out at him. The two captains shook their heads in disbelief. Luke's eyes switched back and forth between them.

"What is it?"

"You act so much like Roach! At least now we know who to blame for his attitude." Price said.

"Hey! He was sassy before we even met!"

"How would you know?"

"Are you a stalker?!"

"What?! No!" He said, shaking his head vehemently.

"Then how would you know what he was like before you met him?"

"I studied psychology. Body language tells you a lot about a person." He said with a shrug as he took a sip of his juice.

Everyone started laughing hysterically. Luke looked at them confusedly.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Roach... he hates psychologists... He would never be _friends_ with one!" Kick said.

"Yeah, well he's friends with this one. And technically I'm not a fully qualified psychologist, I just studied it for a few years."

"That doesn't matter! You still studied it, so it counts." Hesh put in.

Everyone else nodded agreement. Luke thought for a moment, then remembered something. A smile crept onto his face.

"You know, one time I made him go to a psychologist."

Suddenly all eyes were on him.

"Excuse me?!"

"How the bloody hell did you manage that?"

"Did he not try to murder you?"

Luke put his hands up for silence.

"Yes, he did. I think that was the angriest I've ever seen him, actually. But when he went in, he scared the shit out of that poor psychologist."

"Oh God... how'd he do that?" Merrick asked fearfully.

"He started speaking in German, then he switched back to English and told her he was a Nazi and he was going to blow up the building. I mean, he had the accent down and everything. He said he was going to finish his great grandfather's work. Then he laughed like an insane person and literally threw a rock and made beeping noises. The woman thought he was actually gonna blow up the building so she screamed 'There's a bomb in the building!' and ran. The cops and S.W.A.T team and a whole bunch of other people came, but he was already gone. I was so pissed."

Everyone's mouths were hanging open in shock.

"Guys, you'll catch flies. Close your mouths." He laughed.

"Oh my God! He really is crazy!"

"How did that lady think it was a bomb?!"

"How old was he?"

"How did he know German?"

"Okay okay okay, be quiet. He was 14. The lady thought it was a bomb because he can mimic sounds just as well as voices, so it actually sounded realistic. He knew German because he's very smart, always reading books and shit. What's surprising is he's a high school dropout." He mused.

"Woah, really?"

"I never would've guessed!"

"Damn."

"Yeah, he ummm... dropped out for one of the strangest reasons I've ever heard of. I mean, he had one good reason, but the other one just made me laugh and I don't know if it was true."

"What are they?"

"I wanna know!"

"TELL US!" Logan yelled, bouncing up and down with excitement.

Hesh looked up at him and said, "Damn Logan, chill."

"Okay, so his good reason was that he already knew everything they were teaching about. And he really did, he's one of the smartest people I've ever met. But his other reason... was that he kept getting groped in the hallways. Apparently he was a bit too cute."

"No way..." Kick said, his eyes wide.

"Damn, that was unexpected." Price said.

"Yeah, right." Keegan muttered, rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious! To this day he doesn't know who it was. One time he got fed up with it and the next time it happened, he immediately swung around to punch them but they were already gone. Instead he hit a different person walking behind him, breaking their nose. Then he got suspended. He was pissed. He went straight to the principal's office and burst into her room. He yelled at her for punishing her students without hearing their reasoning, and she said she didn't care enough to listen. He threw a textbook at her and cussed her out, then he quit school."

"He really is a troublemaker, isn't he?" Merrick laughed.

"I still... still can't believe he said he was a Nazi..." Toad said, laughing hysterically.

"I know! It's crazy!" Archer said, taking a sip from his beer.

"He was an interesting person to be around, I'll tell you that much." Luke said with a grin.

* * *

Charlie ran down the hall laughing with a huge smile on his face. Gary chased him around, laughing just as hard.

"I'm gonna get ya!" He yelled, peeking in a door.

Charlie wasn't there, but he heard his adorable giggle somewhere down the hall. He smirked and silently crept down the hallway, checking rooms as he went. He was about to pass by the closet when he heard heavy breathing. He turned and whipped open the door, a triumphant smile on his face. Charlie's large brown eyes stared up at him under his untidy mop of light brown hair and he screamed, scrambling to get away. He easily grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder. Charlie sighed and glared at him.

"Haha, now you have to do dishes." Gary said happily.

"I don't wanna!" Charlie whined, crossing his arms as Gary gently set him down on his bed.

Gary poked his nose and said, "Well that's too bad, twerp."

"Idiot." Charlie smiled.

Gary put a hand on his chest and traced an imaginary tear down his face, feigning hurt. Charlie giggled and hugged him.

"I wuv you..." He said.

"Love you too, bro." Gary said.

They hugged for a minute or so, but Gary's stomach turned when he went to pull back and Charlie's limp body came with him.

"Charlie...?" He asked.

No reply.

Suddenly his hands felt wet... He gently pushed Charlie off of him, only to see a large knife protruding from his chest. They were both covered in blood. A tear slid from Charlie's lifeless brown eyes as he started up at him. A feeling of emptiness washed over him and took over his body. Tears ran down his cheeks at an endless rate, but he didn't notice. Then he heard laughter from behind him. When he turned to look, John was standing there with a sadistic smile on his face, blood all over his hands.

* * *

Roach woke up with a scream of terror. He felt someone next to him jump and gasp in surprise. His cheeks were already soaked with tears. He gasped for breath and curled in in himself, shutting the rest of the world out. A hand grabbed his arm and he flinched.

"R-Roach? What's wrong?" Ghost asked, his voice full of concern.

"Ch-Charlie's gone..." He sobbed.

Roach grabbed the IV and ripped it out because it was annoying him. His chest felt like it was closing in on itself. He couldn't breathe. Ghost was so confused. The name Charlie brought something to mind, but he couldn't quite recall what it was. He just knew that his best friend was crying and upset and he couldn't even get him to look at him. Suddenly the lights turned on and Luke rushed in. He took one look at Roach and his mouth opened in shock.

"Shit." He muttered, running a hand through Roach's hair to try to get his attention.

"Gary? C'mon, look at me." He begged, gently patting his face.

That only made him cry more and move away from him.

"What's wrong with him? Who's Charlie?" Ghost asked with a yawn. He was still a bit out of it.

Luke's eyes grew huge.

"He said something about Charlie?"

"Yeah... He said he was gone..."

"Damn it."

Luke couldn't believe Gary was still having nightmares about Charlie. It had been six or seven years... But then again, those two had been so close. He would probably still be having nightmares too if he was in the same situation as Gary. He scooped him up as carefully as he could and left the room, leaving Ghost to wonder what was wrong and where the hell they were going.

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe... Charlie drama. I hope I didn't confuse anyone, that's not actually how Charlie was killed. I showed that in like chapter... 5. I had to go back and look, lol. And when there's almost 40 chapters, things are hard to find sometimes. But yeah, this was more like a memory that Roach had of him and Charlie playing around and having fun but then the image of Charlie's death appeared and ruined it. Anywho, you'll get to see what happens to Roach in the next chapter.**

 ***Oh! And there will be more chapters when they're like drunk people! Archer took them off that medication, but some of the Ghosts will give it to them occasionally just to mess around.***

 **PLEASE REVIEW! WHEN WE GET TO 100 REVIEWS WE'LL HAVE AN AWESOME INTERNET PARTY! Then we'll all gain like 20 pounds... oh God...**


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N: Hey! So... I have no clue what this chapter will show. Depends on how I feel, lol. Enjoy...**

 _ **When it's in italics, that means they're speaking in Korean. I'll tell you if it's something else like a flashback or nightmare.**_

 ***Marioexpertken helped me with ideas, so they get credit! Whoohoo!***

* * *

Luke set Gary down at a table in the vacant cafeteria. He quickly turned on the lights and sat down beside him, hugging him and trying to calm him down. He was gasping for breath and tears were coursing down his cheeks. It was so sad, he was shaking and Luke could tell his ribs were hurting because his breathing was too fast. He knew this was a panic attack and it would only get worse if he didn't do something.

"Shhh, it's okay. Just breathe."

Gary whimpered and buried his face in his shoulder. Luke ran his hand through his hair and whispered comforting words to him. After a while he calmed down a bit, his breathing slowed and he wasn't crying as hard. Luke just rubbed his back and sat there with him.

"Was... was it about Charlie?" He asked gently.

He felt Gary nod and he sighed.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Gary hesitated, then moved his head to rest on Luke's shoulder.

"W-we were playing a-and having fun. He h-hugged me and said he l-loved me. Then I t-tried to move back and h-he moved with m-me. Then my hands felt w-wet and I pushed him back to look at him. There was a... a k-knife in his chest and we were c-covered in blood..." He trailed off and started crying again.

"Gary... you need to tell your friends. They're all really worried about you and if you bottle up things like this it's gonna tear you apart."

Gary shook his head and said, "N-no. They won't like me when t-they realize I k-killed poor little Charlie..."

Luke grabbed his head and forced him to look at him.

"It was _not_ your fault! You couldn't have prevented it even if you were there, so stop blaming yourself."

"B-but I left him alone with J-John...!" He cried, burying is face in his hands.

"You shouldn't have had to stay around and protect him all the time. If John was a good father, he would've provided for you guys and taken care of you. But he didn't. He chose to start drinking and abuse you guys instead, and that's not your fault. You can't control what decisions he makes or what he decides to do. There's _nothing_ you could have done, so it's not your fault. You got that?" He asked, staring intently at his face.

Gary sniffled and nodded.

"But if I tell them, they'll see me d-differently. They'll g-give me these looks like t-they pity me and I hate that." He whined.

"Well I'll tell them not to do that. But man, you gotta tell them. They'll find out somehow anyways. I'm actually surprised they haven't already. Would you rather tell them and have them understand or have them figure it out and misunderstand what happened?" He asked.

Gary shook his head. He definitely didn't want them to misunderstand.

"I... I'll think about it..." He said.

Luke nodded, knowing that was the best answer he was going to get at this point.

* * *

Ghost nervously sat in bed playing with his fingers. Roach hadn't been back for a long time and he was really worried. What if something happened to him? He sighed and told himself that he'd be fine. He didn't believe it for a second though. His head immediately snapped up when everyone except Roach and Luke entered the room. Tears filled his eyes. Where was Roach? Archer looked at him and his eyes widened. He ran over to him and grabbed his hand.

"What's wrong? Why are you shaking?" He asked worriedly.

He hadn't even realized he was shaking.

"Luke ran off with Roach and didn't come back..." He said, his voice cracking on the word 'Roach'.

Archer smiled at him and said, "They're just talking. Roach is fine."

Ghost nodded but still looked worried. He shuddered thinking about what had happened the last time Roach was out of his sight...

"Do you know what Roach's nightmare was about?" Kick asked.

Ghost looked at them and said, "He was screaming about someone named Charlie... who's that?"

Everyone looked at each other with shocked expressions. They hadn't expected that.

"We were told that Charlie was his younger brother but that's all we know." Logan answered.

"I didn't know he had any siblings."

"Oh hey, I've been meaning to ask you. What did John and Dan ask you about when you were taken with them?" Price asked.

Ghost shook his head and said, "Nothing."

"Dude, it's rude to lie." Hesh said, crossing his arms and glaring at him.

"I'm serious. They didn't ask me about anything. I don't know about Roach though, we were separated the whole time."

They all looked for signs that he was lying, but there were none. He was telling the truth.

"They really didn't ask you about anything? What kind of an interrogator does that?!" Keegan asked in awe.

"I don't know. It was weird. It was almost as if they were just torturing us for fun..."

"So you didn't see Roach the whole time?" Soap asked curiously.

"I didn't see him, but they made me listen instead. They locked him in a room that was 5 by 5 feet wide and c-completely dark." He said with a shiver.

Everyone gasped. They all knew about Roach's claustrophobia and how bad it was. Sometimes he even had random panic attacks because of his anxiety.

"Shit, that must've been bad." Toad said quietly.

"No wonder he's so edgy." Archer said.

"I know, he like thoroughly examins each room before entering it."

"Thats how h-he broke his foot. He was trying to g-get out." Ghost said, a tear slipping down his cheek.

Suddenly Luke walked in with Roach. Ghost's face immediately lit up and he smiled. Roach looked bad. His cheeks were blotchy and tear stained. His eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed as he nervously peered around the room, his eyes searching for exits. Luke set him down in his bed right beside Ghost's and he pointed a finger at him.

" _Think about what I said."_ He said quietly in a language that none of them knew.

Roach nodded and looked down at his lap.

"Woah, what language was that?" Kick asked curiously.

He didn't bother to ask what Luke said because he knew he wouldn't get an answer.

"Korean." Roach muttered.

"Damn kid, how many languages do you speak? So far I've heard German and Korean..." Merrick asked.

Roach looked at him and said, "How'd you know I can speak German?"

"I told them about the Nazi incident." Luke explained.

"Ah, I see. I think just know 10 languages... but I kinda lost track. I need to get back in touch with my contacts..." He sighed.

He hadn't talked to any of them since all of this shit started.

"You can talk to them tomorrow, but you're not meeting up with any of them." Luke said simply.

"I know." He replied sharply.

Luke gave him a look that said, 'Don't argue with me' and he dropped his gaze to the floor.

"You okay?" Ghost asked.

"'M fine."

There was an awkward silence that settled over the room. Roach broke it.

"Are we all just going to sit here and stare at each other?"

"I don't know... there's nothing to talk about..." Ghost said with a shrug, wincing as his arm throbbed.

"What time is it?" Roach asked with a yawn.

All eyes moved to the clock on the wall at the other side of the room.

"Ummm... it's four A.M." Soap said with a laugh.

Roach sighed. "That's wonderful."

"You going back to bed?" Luke asked him.

Fear flashed through his eyes for a split second, then disappeared.

"Fuck no."

* * *

 **A/N: I know, shitty chapter. I apologize for my shittiness... that sounded weird, lmao. Please leave me a review! It seems like everyone disappeared all of the sudden... REVIEW! :)**


	40. Chapter 40

**A/N: Woohoo! We have officially reached chapter forty! Yay! I really wasn't expecting this story to be so long... it was literally supposed to be like ten chapters... oops. :P**

 ***Marioexpertken gets credit~***

* * *

Roach sat up with a yawn. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept last night because he was literally afraid to go to sleep. He didn't want to have nightmares about Charlie. He shuddered thinking about what had happened in the last nightmare. It made his blood run cold just thinking about it. He was also thinking about what Luke said. He really didn't want to tell his friends. He was so scared that they would judge him. That they would hate him and think he was a terrible person. He knew they probably wouldn't, but there was still that small, terrifying chance that they would. He wouldn't be surprised if they did, hell, even _he_ hated himself so why shouldn't they? He wasn't used to opening up to people. He was just... scared. He looked at Ghost's sleeping form beside him and sighed. He looked so cute...

 _Maybe I should tell him first..._ He thought.

He sat there for a while longer, deep in thought. He nearly jumped off the bed when Keegan walked in. So did Ghost, who had immediately woken up when he heard someone enter the room.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you guys." Keegan said, examining his IV line.

"It's f-fine. What did you need?"

Ghost just sat there rubbing at his eyes and yawning.

"I just came to give you two your meds." He explained, trying to keep a smile off his face.

He had actually snuck in to dope them up on the meds that Archer had stopped giving them. The whole Ghost team was in on it. They all thought it was hilarious when they were acting like drunk people, so they decided that today was as good a day as any to drug them. They knew that they would probably be mad later, but they were all bored and needed some entertainment. He injected the medicine into Roach's IV line, then moved to Ghost's. Ghost gave him a look that said, 'Don't you fucking dare'. He still didn't like anyone giving him injections. It made him nervous. In fact, the first several times they tried to give him meds, he had panic attacks. He was a bit better now, but he was still very edgy.

"Ghost, it's just pain meds. You'll be fine." He said as he injected it into his IV line.

He left the room with a shit eating grin on his face, heading straight for the rec room. When he got there, all of the Ghosts looked at him expectantly.

"We're all set." He said, giving a thumbs up.

"Yay!" Logan cheered.

"This is gonna be awesome." Kick said happily.

"You bet your ass it will be." Merrick said with a small smile.

Archer walked in and they immediately shut up. He gave them all weird looks.

"What? Why'd you suddenly stop talking?" He asked curiously, tilting his head to the side.

"Nothing, where's everyone else?" Hesh asked, changing the subject.

"They're going to visit Roach and Ghost." He said with a shrug.

They all exchanged a look. Shit.

"Okay, what did you guys do?" Archer asked, crossing his arms and glaring at them.

"Rude! Why are you automatically accusing people of committing wrongful acts?" Keegan asked indignantly.

"Because you're all acting suspicious."

"Well-"

"You know what, I don't even want to know. As long as you didn't mess with Roach or Ghost..."

Keegan tried really hard not to laugh... but he failed. The others did too, they all started giggling.

"What did you do to them?!" Archer asked, hitting his arm.

"Owww! I didn't do anything!"

"Yes you did!" He cried, turning away and running for the infirmary.

They all continued to laugh until they decided it was time to pay their two favorite cuties a visit. They walked in to see Roach and Ghost cuddling in bed. They looked like little kittens...

"You two need to stop... seriously, I'm starting to think you guys are gay and in love."

"Oh yeah? Well I don't care, bitchy banana." Roach said, giving Ghost a peck on the lips just to prove his point.

Ghost just smiled at him.

Luke laughed and said, "I thought you guys knew. Gary... doesn't really care if you're a guy or a girl. He's dated both and screwed both before, so he doesn't really give a shit. He doesn't care in the slightest about what anyone's opinion of him is, either."

Roach just looked at him with a blank expression.

"Damn, that was a blunt way to put it." Price said, raising his eyebrows.

"Hey, I'm just saying those two could very well be dating... and sucking face when you guys aren't looking."

"Don't give them any ideas." Soap whispered.

"MOMMY!" They screamed as Archer entered the room.

He looked absolutely horrified.

"That's what you did?! You've ruined them! Their brains are just piles of shit now! Damn you guys!" He yelled, bolting from the room.

Roach and Ghost giggled.

"I didn't know I had a brain..." Ghost said with a pout.

"Well it's a pile of shit now~" Roach replied, as if that was the best thing that could ever happen to someone.

"You're a pile of shit. Assface." He said, poking his nose.

"Nu-uh! Soapy, he's being mean to me!"

"Soapy, eh? That's a nice name." Price said with a smirk.

"Soapy Soapy Soap!" Ghost chirped.

"They're very strange." Kick said, shaking his head.

"I know! They don't seem as hyped as last time though..." Hesh sighed dissapointedly.

"Well look at Roach. He looks like he died and went to hell." Logan said, pointing at Roach.

He _did_ look pretty bad. Dark circles decorated the area under his eyes, which were bloodshot and red rimmed. He looked exhausted and in serious need of sleep.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right."

"Old banana!"

"Banana King!"

"Don't ever wake the Oomoo!"

"Shut up, Roach. Nobody likes ya, not even the old banana." Ghost said grumpily, poking his cheek.

Roach just smiled at him and said, "No, but you like me. I'm your favorite person~"

"No you're not!"

"Yaaaassssss!" Roach screamed

"No no no."

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes ye-"

Ghost covered his mouth.

"Shut your face hole."

Roach bit his hand and he screamed and hit him on the head.

"Bad dog!"

"Oh my god." Keegan said.

"This is so weird..." Luke sighed.

"I honestly don't know what to do with them." Price said.

"Hehe, we should take pictures... I wish Roach would let me..."

Roach's head snapped toward him.

"NEVER EVER NEVER!" He yelled.

"NEVER!" Ghost joined in.

Toad quickly grabbed his phone and snapped a picture, then ran from the room. A silver blur spun across the room and buried itself in the wall beside where Toad had been not even half a second ago. Most of them had hardly even seen him move. Roach sat there with an amused look on his face. He would never actually try to hit any of them, he had missed on purpose. But how had he even gotten a knife?

"YEAH, YOU BETTER RUN YA LITTLE SHIT!"

"RUN AWAY LITTLE UNICORN!"

They all just stared at them. They were both insane.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi... I'm really not satisfied with this chapter, but I suppose I'm not always gonna be completely satisfied with my work. Please review! :)**


	41. Chapter 41

**A/N: Hey guys! You should review... WE NEED TO REACH 100! Lol, whatever. Have fun with the two adorable crazies.**

 ***Credit to Marioexpertken!***

* * *

Luke was in the infirmary, checking Gary's stitches and cleaning the wounds so they wouldn't get infected. Gary was asleep. The medication that Keegan gave him and Ghost earlier had knocked them both out, which was fine because they both needed the rest. It was really cute, he was snuggled up against Ghost and they both looked content. So much for Gary getting in touch with his contacts... He had so many injuries that it took a while to get him cleaned up. He was just relieved that he hadn't torn any stitches. Earlier when he threw that knife, they all figured he had torn the ones in his left arm. He had thrown it with his left because his right was currently in a cast.

Luke wondered if Gary was thinking about what he said. He hoped he was... it would help him so much if he just told someone. Then he wouldn't feel so alone. He sighed as he cleaned the burns on his feet. Even in his sleep, Gary flinched when he touched them. They had been severely burned when he was stuck in that burning helicopter. He wouldn't be able to walk for a while, and the broken foot didn't help. He had so many scars... his body was just covered in them. Luke only knew how he had received about half of them, the rest were new to him. He finished up after a while and cleaned everything up, ruffling Gary's hair before heading to the rec room. He walked in to see everyone laughing and talking about stuff. Toad just looked scared.

"Where does he even get those knives?! He hasn't even been out of bed yet!" Toad cried, running a hand through his hair.

"He always has one or two hidden on him somewhere. No matter how thoroughly you pat him down, he'll probably always still have one. That's why I don't bother to search him." He shrugged, taking a seat on the couch.

"He's so weird!" Archer said with a smirk.

"Nah, he's just careful. So careful that no one's been able to kill him yet."

"I really don't think it's possible." Kick said with a grin.

"It's probably not." Logan sighed.

"How are they?" Price asked.

"Both still out like a light. He didn't tear his stitches though, so that's a relief."

"Oh, thank god. Roach and stitches just don't mix." Soap said with a shake of his head.

"No, no they definitely don't." Toad agreed.

Luke laughed at them and said, "When he needs stitches I don't even bother trying to get him to stay still. I just knock him out."

"Well... I suppose that's a good solution." Keegan said with a shrug.

"Just don't ever bring him to a hospital."

"We did that once... He ran away." Archer chuckled.

"That's a completely normal reaction for him. He is very... different from others, I'll give him that much."

"I don't think I've ever seen him in a hospital gown... that needs to go on my bucket list." Toad mused.

Luke immediately shook his head.

"No no no. Don't ever try that!" He warned, waving a finger at him.

"Why not? What could happen?" Kick asked, rolling his eyes.

"He'll strip buck naked and leave, that's what. He did it once and all the nurses in the room got his number!" He cried, his eyes huge.

The room was dead silent for a full minute. Then everyone burst out laughing.

"You've got... to be kidding!" Hesh said through his laughter.

"I'm not! He did, I swear! So don't put him in a hospital gown unless you feel like seeing him naked. Ever. I mean, it's not the worst thing... He has really nice abs." He admitted sheepishly.

"You're very strange, Luke." Merrick said.

"No seriously, does he still have his abs?" He asked curiously.

"I don't know... why don't you go look?" Archer giggled.

"That'd be creepy."

"I'll do it!" Logan said, jumping up and running away.

"If he bites you or punches you, don't blame me!" Luke yelled after him.

Logan returned a few minutes later with a big smile on his face.

"You're right, he does have really nice abs."

"You mean you _actually_ looked?" Luke asked with a raised eyebrow.

Logan nodded.

"He has scars everywhere..."

"Yeah, he does. He's literally covered in them."

"Where'd he get them all?"

"Well... he was a very chaotic person. Always getting in fights and shit with lots of people. That's how he got a lot of them."

They nodded.

"So... is there any chance we'll get to hear about what his nightmare the other night was about?" Price asked.

"Eh, maybe... we had a talk. He might tell you, but with him if he told _anyone_ , it'd probably be Ghost first. You've all seen how those two are." Luke sighed.

They all sighed dissapointedly. They wished Luke would just tell them.

"What are you all whining about? He actually _trusts_ me, do you even know how long that took? I'm not about to hurt him by telling you all about his past, so you might as well quit asking me about it. If you really want to know, ask him, because he's the only one you're possibly gonna get anything out of, although I seriously doubt it." He snapped.

Some of them muttered apologies. They were just so worried about him...

"Sorry for snapping at you... believe me, I've been trying to get him to tell you. He's scared of being judged and he's never been the most open person. Scratch that, he's not open at all." Luke sighed.

"It's fine, he doesn't have to tell us... we're just curious." Soap said.

"I'd prefer that he did, the poor kid's gonna kill himself with sleep deprivation it he doesn't do something. Just, if he does, don't look at him like you pity him. He'll probably punch you if you do that."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry, next chapter will be more eventful. I know this one was kinda boring. Please review! :)**


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: Hello! Have fun! Byebye! Hehehe...**

 ***Marioexpertken is awesome and you should totally read their story 'Between Worlds'***

* * *

He heard sniffling. It almost sounded like someone was crying, and the only person here other than himself was Roach. Ghost blindly searched the bed for him, but only bed sheets met his hands. He sighed and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. His arm hurt like a bitch, but he was more worried about Roach. He looked around the room and saw him curled up on his bed a few feet away. He was definitely crying and it looked like he was shaking.

"Roach? What's wrong?" He asked, turning toward him and wincing as his ribs flared with pain.

Roach flinched at the sound of his voice and turned to him, hurriedly wiping the tears away as he went.

"N-nothing, go back to bed." He said, sniffling and giving him a forced smile.

Ghost glared at him and said, "No. Come here."

Roach shook his head. He sighed and swung his legs to the floor, preparing to stand.

"No! No, I'm c-coming." Roach said quickly.

He very carefully shuffled over to him and sat down beside him. It hurt like mad, but he did it. He really didn't want to tear any of his stitches, especially not the ones in his leg. Pictures of Charlie with a knife in his chest flashed through his mind and his eyes involuntarily filled with tears. He tried to ignore the pictures, but they were branded into his mind and always would be. Ghost saw the horrified look on his face and the tears, but didn't comment. Instead he pushed him to lay down and laid beside him, snuggling into the warmth that he provided and covering them with a blanket.

"What's wrong?" He asked once they got settled.

Roach just shook his head. His back was turned to him so he couldn't see his face. He was still shaking a bit, so Ghost wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him closer. He was so comfortable that he easily could have fallen asleep right then and there. But he didn't. He was too worried about Roach and what was bothering him. He placed his head on his shoulder and sighed.

"You can talk to me, you know. I won't judge you and I won't laugh. I won't even say anything if you don't want me to. I'll just listen..." He said quietly.

Roach turned to look at him. He really wanted to tell him, but he was scared. He knew Ghost wouldn't judge him, he never had and he probably never would. But still, he never enjoyed even thinking about his past, much less talking about it. But if there was ever a good time to tell him, now would be it. Ghost brushed his bangs out of his face and smiled encouragingly at him. He couldn't help but give a small smile back.

"I ummm... I had a l-little brother... named Ch-Charlie." He started, feeling that if he was going to tell him he should start at the beginning.

Ghost nodded silently and listened.

"I had a good mother, Alyss, and a nice father, J-John."

Ghosts eyes widened when he said 'father' and 'John' in the same sentence, but he figured it _couldn't_ be the John that had captured them. The world was filled with people named John, right? It had to be a different one.

"But when I was eleven Alyss d-died from c-cancer. Then J-John started drinking and got m-mean. He blamed me for her d-death and was always hitting me, but I n-never let him hurt Charlie. I stayed with h-him constantly and protected him from John." He said, tears falling down his cheeks.

Ghost's thoughts were scattered as if they had just been nuked. Suddenly he began to understand so many things about his friend, like the anxiety issues and nightmares.

"B-but one night John really hurt m-me and I left for about 20 minutes to g-get cleaned up."

Ghost got a bit nervous when he said that. He didn't know why, he just did. The words sounded so ominous and... he just got a bad feeling.

"John.. he... he got mad at m-me and took it out on Ch-Charlie." Roach choked out, tears streaming down his face.

Ghost tightened his hold on him and soothingly ran his free hand through his hair. He had a bad feeling that John had killed Charlie...

"G-Ghost... He st-stabbed him! I c-came home and J-John was gone and Charlie was d-d-dead!" He cried, burying his face in his chest.

Ghost pulled him closer and rubbed his back. He felt awful... no one should ever have to deal with something so horrible.

"Shhh, it's okay." He whispered, tears gathering in his own eyes.

"N-n-no it's not. I shouldn't have l-left... I was s...selfish. It's all m-my fault."

"No you weren't. You shouldn't have had to stay with Charlie all the time to protect him. No person should ever have to do that. It's not your fault at all. And John's just a ruthless asshole who deserves to die." He said, his blood boiling with hate for John.

He hated anyone who made Roach cry like this. The younger man was silent for a few moments, other than the sounds of sniffling.

"H-he called the police before he left... everyone thinks I k-killed Charlie and I'm w-wanted all over England." He said shamefully.

"Well you didn't, so don't worry about it."

The room fell silent.

"My father... is the s-same John that captured us..."

Ghost was shocked, but didn't let it show. He didn't want Roach to think he was judging him in any way, so he kept his voice and expression neutral.

"Okay. But... why? Who would ever do that to their son?" He asked.

"He really h-hates me. He says I'm a m-mistake and wasn't meant to be b-born."

"Well you're definitely not. If you weren't here, I wouldn't want to be here either."

Roach looked up at him with teary eyes.

"S-so... you don't hate me...?" He asked fearfully.

Ghost looked down at him with sad eyes.

"No! Of course not! I would never hate you! Why would you think that?" He asked, his heart in his stomach.

"I... I just didn't think you'd l-like me after you found o-out." He stuttered nervously.

"No... I'll always love you."

Roach looked a bit confused.

"You l-love _me?"_ He asked incredulously.

Ghost laughed at him and kissed his forehead.

"Of course I do. We should date." He said wistfully.

Roach glared at him and whacked his arm.

"Is that h-how you ask someone out?!"

"Ummm..."

"Cause you're gonna have to do a lot better than that if you want me to-"

He was interrupted when Ghost closed the space between them and kissed him full on the lips. He didn't react instantly, as the move had surprised him, but he recovered after a few seconds and eagerly kissed him back. He ran his tongue along his upper lip and nibbled on it a bit. Ghost smiled against his lips and opened his mouth more, deepening the kiss. After a few minutes, Ghost pulled back.

"Will you date me?" He asked breathily.

Roach giggled and nodded.

"Was that good enough?" Ghost chuckled.

"Yeah, it'll do."

Ghost raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "It'll do?"

Roach poked his nose and smiled at him.

"Yes honey, it'll do."

* * *

 **A/N: I honestly loved writing this chapter. It was fun. I hope you guys liked it! I'm sorry if I didn't describe the kissing very well... I've never done it, so the only way I have of knowing what it's like is to read stuff, lol. Hehehe, I _did_ promise that this chapter would be more eventful. And it totally was. Please leave me a review! ;)**


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: Hi guys! I saw you liked the last chapter! Hehehe... I think that one's my favorite. I wasn't planning on getting them together in that chapter... it just kinda happened. So yea, they're totally dating now. That's a strange thing to say. Lolz, have fun~**

* * *

Luke smiled as he walked to the rec room. He was coming from the infirmary and had seen Roach and Ghost sleeping together. It was so cute, they were both snuggled up together under the blankets. He wondered if they had talked things out yet... He entered the rec room and sat down, the smile still on his face. The others gave him weird looks for smiling at nothing.

"What are you smiling about?" Keegan asked curiously.

"I just checked on Roach and Ghost... they're cuddling..." He laughed.

The others looked at each other for a few seconds, then jumped up and ran toward the infirmary.

"They're crazy." Price chuckled.

He and Luke were the only ones that had stayed. After a few minutes the others returned. They were all smiling and laughing.

"THEY'RE ADORABLE!" Logan squealed.

"I know, I just wanna poke Roach but I'm not gonna cause it'd probably scare the shit out of him." Hesh said with a grin.

"Oh my god. I was trying to wake him up for school one time and I poked him... I've never seen him jump out of bed so fast, it was hilarious." Luke recalled, shaking his head with a smile.

"Yeah... Hesh, you probably shouldn't poke him." Merrick said.

"I will!" Logan said happily as he hopped off the couch.

Hesh grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to sit with him.

"No no no. Stay here, they're trying to sleep, you idiot."

Logan pouted and he patted him on the head.

"You two are very... odd." Kick said thoughtfully.

"We know." They smirked.

* * *

Roach groaned and tried to roll over, but failed horrifically. He couldn't move. He sighed and opened his eyes a bit. His eyes were met with a sleeping Ghost, who had an arm thrown haphazardly around his waist and their legs tangled together.

 _That explains why I can't move... haha._

He had a killer headache from all the crying he had done last night, but he smiled remembering the events afterward. He and Ghost were dating now... He had never really been gay... he guessed was kinda in the middle. He didn't really care if he dated a guy or a girl, as long as they were a good person and he liked them. And Ghost certainly fit the bill. He smiled again, just overflowing with happiness. He snuggled closer to him and sighed contentedly. Even though he currently felt like shit, he could deal with it as long as Ghost was here. He jumped when said person moved.

"Haha, morning jumpy." He laughed.

Roach winced as his headache pounded loudly in his ears.

"Meeaaan~" He whined.

Ghost laughed at him and asked, "So... you okay?"

"Shhh, quiet. I have the headache of death." He whispered, closing his eyes and burying his face in his neck.

Ghost ruffled his hair and quietly said, "Do you want pain meds? I can probably get Luke, Archer, or Keegan to give you some..."

Roach nodded silently.

Ghost sat up on his elbows and was reaching for the call button when everyone filed into the room laughing. Well that was convenient... Roach whined and covered his ears.

"Be quiet! He has a headache!" He said as quietly as he could.

Everybody sat down and grew quiet, muttering discreet apologies as they went. Luke found the pain medication and injected a dose into his IV line. Roach didn't seem to notice, opting to stay hidden under the blanket and hang onto Ghost as if his life depended on it.

"It's probably just side effect of the concussion. He'll be fine in a while." He said, taking a seat by the hospital bed.

"Sooo... how's life?" Kick asked, unable to think of anything else to talk about.

"Ummm... it sucks? That's really the only answer I can give you at this point."

"True, I suppose. Wow, your life really does suck doesn't it?"

Keegan whacked his arm, silently telling him to shut the fuck up.

Ghost raised an eyebrow. "Glad you noticed." He said flatly.

After a few minutes Roach seemed to relax a bit and loosen his grip on Ghost. He poked his head up and scanned the room, looking at everyone.

"Look who decided to make an appearance." Soap said with a cheeky grin.

Roach's eyes landed on him and he groaned and burrowed under the blankets again. Everyone laughed at his weirdness.

"What kind of a greeting to your captain was that?!" Price asked.

"I don't think he likes Soap." Logan said.

"No... something happened." Luke said, poking at Roach's arm.

"Dude... don't poke the bear." Hesh warned fearfully.

"Yeah, he'll bite ya." Archer smirked.

"Yeah... well if he bites me he's gonna get smacked."

"That's mean. He's injured!" Toad said sadly.

"That doesn't give him an excuse to bite people. If he's gonna act like a dog, then he can hang around with yours."

Roach poked his head up and glared at him, giving him the middle finger.

"Hey! It's true!" Luke said defensively.

The others just laughed at him. Those two were so funny the way they behaved around each other.

"And what happened last night? I know something did, there's guilt all over your faces." He said, pointing between the two of them.

They both blushed and Roach hid again, leaving Ghost to do the talking.

The Ghost team all paled.

"No! You didn't... not in our hospital bed?!" Merrick asked with a horrified look on his face.

The rest of them had their mouths open in shock. Surely they hadn't...

Ghost glared at them. "No we didn't."

"Hey! Don't leave me! I'm not telling them!" He cried, peeking under the covers.

"Yes you are, bitch." Came the muffled reply.

Some of them giggled at Roach's snappy attitude.

"Wait, which thing are we talking about telling them? One or two?" He asked, surfacing once again from the sea of blankets.

"...Which one's which?"

"They're in order, dumbass."

"Oh... I was talking about two, I didn't know if you wanted to discuss one..." Ghost said quietly.

"Are you guys ever gonna tell us what's going on?" Merrick asked impatiently.

They both shook their heads.

"Nope." They said.

Roach turned back to Ghost. "I suppose we could-"

"WAIT! You told him didn't you? Didn't you?!" Luke said, standing up in excitement.

Roach blushed harder and tried to hide again, only to have Luke grab him and force him to look at him. Luke gasped.

"YOU DID!" He said excitedly, letting go of him and literally hopping around the room.

Roach groaned and immediately hid again.

"What did he do?" Logan asked confusedly.

"And how can you tell? He didn't even say anything or make a face..." Kick said.

"He told Ghost about his past last night! He _actually_ told someone!"

Everyone turned to stare at Roach, a.k.a the lump under the blankets.

"Don't look at me!" He said, feeling their stares burn into his soul.

"Oh... I can tell cause I can read him like a book. I'm the only one who knows when he's lying, too. It's fun." Luke said happily.

"You know, we should keep you with us. You'd be useful to have around if you can actually read him. No one else can, haha." Price said with a smile.

"Oi! I have a life too you know! I'll come visit but I'm not living with you guys."

"Wait, don't we get to know?" Archer asked, poking at the lump on the bed.

"What?" It asked.

"Aren't you gonna tell us about your past? You told Ghost..." Keegan said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Roach's head appeared, his hair sticking up at crazy angles. Ghost laughed and fixed it.

"Fuck no, get someone else to tell you." He said, gesturing to Ghost and Luke.

Luke's eyes widened. "You mean it wouldn't bother you if I told them?"

"Eh, a day ago I would've told you to keep your fuckin' mouth shut on the matter. Now I don't really care as long as those idiots don't give me weird looks."

"Damn child, you've changed a lot..."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Just tell them somewhere else so I don't have to listen." He said tiredly, making shooing motions at them with his unbroken arm.

"Yeah, I will. Get some rest, you look like death." Luke said, patting him on the head as he walked by.

"I am death." He said in a deep ass voice.

"Mhmm, sure. Take a nap, Mr. Death." Luke smiled, following the others out of the room.

Roach looked up at Ghost with a smile.

"Ghostie?"

"Huh, what?" He asked.

"He... He called me Mr. Death." Roach giggled.

Ghost laughed at him and covered his eyes.

"Go to sleep, you bugger."

* * *

 **A/N: Hehe, that was cute. Please review! Hopefully we'll reach 100! I would be so happy! :D**


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Hello~ How are all my favorite lovelies? Hehehe... enjoy the cuteness/angst... depends on what I feel like doing in this chappie, lol.**

* * *

Everyone gathered around Luke in the rec room, anxiously waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Now, before I start I have a few things to say. None of what happened was his fault in any way, alright? Don't ask him because he'll swear up and down that everything was his fault because he's a self-blaming little shit. Got that?"

They nodded and he sat back on the couch.

"Okay, so I suppose the first thing I should tell you is that his father's name is John Sanderson. Ring any bells?"

They looked shocked and confused.

"You don't mean the same John that-" Soap started.

"Yup, that's the one." He confirmed with a nod.

"Wait, the one that captured those two and tortured them? What the fuck?!" Hesh said angrily.

"Yea... that's John for ya. He's the biggest ass I've ever seen in my life."

"...Wow... I never expected that. I mean, I saw the resemblance but I didn't think anything of it." Logan said sadly.

"I know, they have the same eyes. Gary hates his eyes. He used to scare the shit out of himself every time he looked in the mirror. It was the saddest thing ever."

"Well what happened?" Price asked curiously.

"His mom's name was Alyss. She was very sweet and an awesome mother. John actually used to be a good father, but when Alyss died from cancer, he started drinking. That's when all the trouble started, Gary was 11 and Charlie was around 9. This," he continued, pulling a picture from his wallet, "is what they looked like then."

He handed it to them and they all took turns looking at it. The picture was of Gary and Charlie. Gary just looked like a younger version of his current self, with fluffy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes to match. Charlie looked much the same, although he looked quite a bit younger. They were standing together at what looked like a park, with other kids playing on swings and slides in the background. They were adorable together and it looked like they were very close.

"Damn, they're so cute..." Kick said in awe.

"They look like twins." Keegan observed.

"They were both extremely close, much like Logan and Hesh. Anyways, when John started drinking, he got abusive. He was always angry, hitting Gary all the time and attempting to hurt Charlie. He never got to though, Gary was with him constantly and protected him. He wouldn't let John hurt him and was always getting hurt himself in the process, which is why he's covered in scars. John blamed him for Alyss's death and to this day he still feels guilty about it even though he didn't do anything wrong."

"Oh my god I wanna kill John so bad." Toad said. He was pissed.

"Same! I hate that guy so much!" Archer agreed.

"How the hell does he keep all this shit to himself?" Merrick asked, shaking his head in disbelief.

"First of all, you can't kill John. Gary's first in line for that. Secondly, he usually keeps everything to himself because he thinks he deserves it because he 'killed Charlie'."

"Wait when did Charlie die?!" Logan shrieked.

"Shush, I'm getting there. One night John hurt him really bad and he ran off for a while to get cleaned up. Seriously, there was blood and broken glass everywhere. I saw the house because I snuck in after the police were gone. But he literally left for like half an hour and when he got back, Charlie was dead on the floor with a knife in his chest."

"John was gone and had called the cops before he left. When the police got there, they saw Gary, who was covered in his and Charlie's blood and of course they saw the dead kid on the floor. And they, being the shitty police squad that they were, blamed the murder on the only one there, Gary. So he's still wanted all over England for 'murdering' his little brother and John is completely innocent in the eyes of the law."

The room was silent. Everyone was just too shocked to respond. They certainly hadn't expected _that_ to be what was bothering their friend. It was so much worse than what they had all been imagining...

"Who the fuck does something like that to their kid?" Price asked quietly.

"I know! That's just messed up." Soap agreed.

"How old was he?" Keegan asked.

"Around 14, but after that whole incident he came to live with me. I was surprised when I got here, actually. He's a lot better now than he was. His anxiety used to be _a lot_ worse. He used to have panic attacks all the time and never wanted to leave the house. When he first moved in with me, he flinched almost every time I moved because he was expecting me to hit him. But yeah, he's a lot better now." Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I didn't expect a 19 year old to have such a fucked up past..." Kick sighed.

Everyone else nodded agreement. None of them had been expecting _this._

"Well, he's a tough kid, I'll say that much for him. Just... don't talk about this, alright? He doesn't like it."

"Yeah, we won't. But do you have any idea where John is?" Merrick asked.

"Ummm... no, I'm not the expert tracker, Gary is."

"Ugh, okay."

"Oh, have any of you noticed that Gary never drinks alcohol?"

They all looked at each other.

"Now that you say that, I can't remember ever seeing him drink." Soap said thoughtfully.

Luke nodded and said, "He never drinks. He's scared that he'll become like his father if he drinks because that's what turned John into a jackass."

"That's so sad." Hesh said.

"I know! This is so depressing." Logan said with tears in his eyes.

"So we'll never get to see him drunk?!" Keegan asked, a bummed out look on his face.

"Nope, never ever." Luke laughed.

They all whined and muttered curses. Damn it.

* * *

 **A/N: *sigh* I know, crappy ending but at least the rest of the chapter was okay. Please review! I'm not updating again until we have reached 100... Oh come on, guys! That's only 2 more reviews! Surely you can manage that! Please review~**


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: WHOOP WHOOP! WE REACHED 100 REVIEWS, PEOPLES! ACTUALLY WE REACHED 103 BUT I'M NOT GOOD AT MATH! YAAAAAASSSSSS! ;D**

 **P.S.- Thanks for the support everyone! It really means... a l-lot... *sniffles* waaaaah... *runs away crying***

* * *

Roach opened his eyes and yawned. He didn't even remember falling asleep... He wasn't tired anymore though. He actually felt restless. His face twisted in disgust when he eyed the white walls and hospital beds that surrounded him. This place was horribly disgusting. A hand appeared out of nowhere and poked his cheeks.

"Be careful babe, your face will get stuck like that!" Ghost laughed.

He turned to him and grinned. "Ghostie~"

"Ahhh, you're so cute."

"I know, bitch."

"Hehehe..."

"What's the creepy laugh for?" Roach asked curiously, turning his head to the side.

"Nothing..."

"Wha-"

"Hi guys! What are ya doing?" Kick asked, running into the room and hopping onto an empty hospital bed.

"Just talking. What else are we supposed to be doing?" Roach snapped.

Ghost whacked him on the head.

"Be nice!"

Kick giggled and the other Ghosts came in and sat down. The two stared at the doorway expectantly.

"Oh, they're not coming. They're busy having a discussion about stuffs." Hesh said, guessing why they were waiting.

"Oh I see. They don't love us anymore, Ghost." Roach sighed.

He shrugged and said, "Well at least the Ghosts still love us."

"What sorta stuffs are they talking about?"

They all shared a glance.

"Ummm... th-"

"Liar! You should be ashamed! Lying to a child!" Roach gasped, dramatically putting a hand on his chest.

"Roach, I didn't say anything yet." Logan said in a defeated tone.

"Yeah, but what you were gonna say was a lie."

"How'd you know what I was gonna say?"

"I didn't but body language says quite enough, you evil liar." He hissed, sticking his tongue out at him.

Ghost just sat there laughing.

"Well okay then, Roach. You win." He said, putting his hands up in surrender while the others laughed.

"Damn straight I do, bitch."

"Are you knocked up on pain meds or something?"

"Nope, I'm just bored as hell. This place is so awful. Fuck my life." He said in a depressed tone.

"Well... I suppose you have been in here for a while. It's been a week, right?" Keegan asked, trying to count the days in his head.

"You suck at math, it's been 9 days counting today." Ghost put in.

"For you or for Roach? You've been in here longer."

"Wait what? He was here when I woke up..." He said confusedly.

"Well yeah, but first I was in... wherever it is that Luke lives." Roach explained.

"Oh... I guess I've been in here for like 13 days then."

"Yup, that's about it." Merrick said.

"It's boring in here! And it smells putrid! I wanna leave..." Roach complained.

"I hate to break it to ya, but you can't walk so you probably won't be leaving."

"Wait, then can't I lea-"

"No, Ghost. You'll tear the stitches in your leg if you try to walk." Hesh said, shaking his head.

Ghost sighed and pouted. Roach just smiled at him and poked his cheek.

"Couldn't someone just carry me?" He asked.

"I thought you hated that." Kick said.

"I do... but I'm tired of this place." He said, gesturing to the room.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? You already have a bad concussion."

"Yeah, but who said Archer was gonna carry me? He's definitely not because if he tries I'll stab him."

"Ummm... you shouldn't do that. It's not nice." Logan advised.

"Well it's not nice to drop people and give them concussions either." He challenged.

"But... okay, you got me there but what would you stab him with? You don't have any-"

"Maybe I do. Maybe I don't. How would you know? It's not like you patted me down or searched my pockets at any time."

Hesh sighed. "You're too smart for your own good."

"I know, it's great isn't it?"

"No Roach, it's not."

"So we really aren't allowed to leave the infirmary?" He asked, giving them puppy dog eyes.

Keegan hesitated at the puppy dog eyes, but then shook his head. "Not until at least some of your stitches are out. You should be happy you haven't torn any yet."

"Ugh. Maybe I should, if only for some excitement." He mused.

"Roach! Don't do that! It's not exciting." Ghost said with a scowl.

"At least something happens then! I feel like chucking something at someone, just so something would happen."

"I don't suggest you do that."

"Why not?"

"Because if you do that I definitely won't ask Luke and Archer to let you two hang out in the rec room tomorrow." Merrick said seriously.

They turned and looked at him like he was a pot of gold. They were about to say something but were interrupted when Luke walked in and washed his hands at the sink.

"Who's gonna ask me what?" He asked, walking over to Roach to check on him.

"Can those two hang out in the rec room tomorrow as long as they're careful?"

"Hmmm... depends on if they behave. They're crazy."

He removed Roach's shirt to get a look at the stitches on his torso and back. They all just stared at the huge collection of bruises and scars that marred his body. Roach frowned when he noticed this.

"You know, if ya take a picture it'll last longer..." He said, giving them a wan smile.

They all awkwardly looked away when they realized they had been staring. They were just surprised at how many there were. They all had John on their minds. Luke didn't seem to notice the exchange and continued to look him over as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, you're good. Are your ribs feeling any better?"

"A bit, not much though." He replied, shaking his head.

"Okay, what about your head?"

"Still have headaches all the time."

"Well that's to be expected, but I'll give you some meds for it in a sec. Tilt your head back, I need to see the bruises on your neck." He instructed.

Roach did as he was told, cringing and tensing when Luke felt around the area. The hand-shaped bruises were still prominent around his neck. It made them all feel bad because they should have saved them sooner than they had.

"Those bruises should be almost gone in another week. You should be glad he didn't damage your vocal cords." He said, finishing up with Roach, who just nodded in response.

He gave him his pain meds, injecting them into the IV line and then moved to Ghost. He carefully pushed his pant leg up past his knee to examine the long line of stitches there. There were 32 stitches.

"Those look okay. Lay down." He muttered distactedly, pulling Ghost's shirt off and pushing him to lay down so he could look at the stab wound in his stomach.

Dan had stabbed him on the last day before they left. He had almost bled out before they had saved him. They had barely reached him in time.

"Fine... are your ribs okay?" He asked, sitting down on the bed.

Ghost nodded. "They're better than they were, it's more of a dull throb instead of fiery needles." He smiled slightly.

"Hah, yeah, I know the feeling." Roach laughed, thinking about the helicopter with a shudder.

"Oh, shit. I forgot to look at your burns." Luke said, standing and moving to the foot of the bed.

He unwrapped the bandages around his left foot (his right leg had a cast on) and set them aside. Burns were always a nasty thing to deal with, as blisters leaking puss and other fluids had formed there. Luke made a face and Roach was worried.

"What's wrong?" He asked nervously.

"Nothing, lay back." He said, pushing him down.

Roach just sighed and stared at the ceiling, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer until Luke was done. He studied the burns for a few moments before straightening and looking at Roach.

"How much do those hurt?"

Roach glanced at him and shuddered. "They feel like they're still on fire and they're melting."

Luke nodded and sighed.

"Well you won't be walking for a while, I'll say that much." He said, searching the cabinets for aloe vera lotion.

"What are you looking for?"

"Stuff."

He found it and poured some onto his hand. Then he returned to the foot of the bed and knelt down, gently applying the aloe vera lotion to the burns. Roach flinched and gasped, sitting up on his elbows.

"Owww! Don't touch them!" He cried, giving Luke a glare.

"This will help them heal faster, so sit back and stay still."

Ghost patted his head and hugged his arm in an attempt to distract him. Luke finished fairly quickly and wrapped them up in fresh bandages, setting the lotion on the bedside table.

"If you need to use that again, you can. It'll help relieve pain and speed up the healing process for those burns. You guys can go to the rec room tomorrow as long as you get some rest. Bye~" Luke said with a smile before he left.

The Ghosts, who had been talking amongst themselves during the check up, stood and turned to them.

"Well, we'd better get going. See ya tomorrow." Merrick said with a wave.

"BYE!" Kick yelled, running away.

"Byebye!" Logan chirped.

"See ya." Hesh said with a smile.

"Bye Mr. Death!" Keegan smirked.

Then they left the pair alone in the terribly boring infirmary.

"I wish infirmaries didn't exist." Roach muttered.

"I know, same. Oh, are we gonna tell them we're in a relationship or is that a secret?" Ghost asked.

Roach shrugged and said, "We'll tell them tomorrow I guess."

"Hmmm... Okay."

Roach gave him a peck on the lips and laid down beside him.

"Night." He said tiredly.

Ghost wrapped an arm around his smaller frame and pulled him closer.

"Goodnight Roach." He chuckled.

* * *

 **A/N: AAAAAHHHHHH WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY SO CUTE?! MAKE THEM STOOOOPPP! SERIOUSLY OMG! THAT SHOULD BE A CRIME! PLEASE REVIEW, WHILE I ARREST THEM FOR CUTENESS! ;)**


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: Hello everyone! How are ya? Mhmm... okay, well now it's time to read about cute guys with abs. Yaaaasssss! Hehehe, have fun! :)**

* * *

Ghost woke up with a yawn and glanced down, smiling when he saw Roach's face. He was so cute. He ran a hand through his fluffy hair and laughed when he smiled in his sleep. He still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they were dating now. He was really happy though. He realized he had feelings for the sergeant a few months ago, but he had pushed them aside in fear of him not feeling the same way. In terms of sexuality, he was basically the same as Roach. He had never really been gay or straight. But then again, he hadn't been in many relationships. The whole long distance thing never worked and he was away most of the time on missions. But now that he had Roach, he wouldn't need to worry about that because they already lived together. He was torn from his thoughts when Luke and Keegan walked into the infirmary.

"Oh, hi. Everyone else is in the rec room, let's go!" Luke said happily, moving toward Roach.

He frowned when he touched Roach's shoulder and he didn't even stir. Then he shrugged and picked him up, thinking he would wake up then. He was still sound asleep. He racked his brains for the last time he gave him meds... early this morning.

"He okay?" Keegan asked, looking at the sleeping Roach.

"I think he's still out because of the pain meds I gave him a while ago. He's fine, just tired... I think."

Keegan picked Ghost up and they carefully brought them to the rec room. They set Ghost down on the couch first, then put Roach in his lap.

"Ahhh! Roach is dead!" Kick exclaimed when he saw him.

Luke whacked him on the head.

"He's not dead you idiot. He's asleep and if you wake him up I'll murder you."

"But... but he never sleeps when people are touching him, especially not _carrying_ him. And you just did BOTH!" He protested, crossing his arms.

"To be honest, he does kinda look dead. He's so... still and he's never been able to sit still for long." Archer said evenly.

"Well that's true but my point is he's not dead."

"Oh, you two need food. What do you want?" Kick asked.

"Nothing."

"Sorry, we're out of nothing. We need to restock. And if you say nothing again I'll slap you."

"Seriously, I don't want anything." He said, playing with Roach's hair.

"It's your funeral..."

"But I'm not dead."

"It _will_ be your funeral when you die of starvation because you refused to eat."

"Mhmm, okay Kick."

Roach woke up with a jolt and his hand shot out, hitting Ghost in the face. He yelped and startled Roach, who jumped and nearly fell off the couch.

"Owww!"

"Oh my god I'm sorry!" He said, sitting up.

"Must you hit someone every time you wake up?" Luke asked, shaking his head.

"Well he scared me, I'm sorry."

"You hit really hard." Ghost whined, rubbing his jaw.

"Oh... we're in the rec room..." He said, looking around.

"No shit Sherlock." Logan laughed.

"When did I get in the rec room? I better not be sleep walking again..."

"Ummm... no, you didn't. When did you sleep walk?"

"When he was like 14. It was creepy." Luke said.

"Roach are you hungry?" Hesh asked.

"Nope."

"Ugh, are you two really not gonna eat?"

"Do you really feel like cleaning the floor when we puke everywhere?" Ghost retorted.

"No not really."

"Okay. Oh, we gonna tell them about number 2?"

"I hope that doesn't mean you guys shitted everywhere..." Keegan said, paling slightly.

"Ewww, no. You're gross."

"Yeah, I guess we can tell them." Roach said.

"Tell us what?! Tell me before I die!" Toad said.

"Yeah, same!" Archer agreed.

"So... Ummm..." He started awkwardly, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Ghost and Roach are dating." Luke said simply.

They both looked at him as if he had just grown a second head.

"How did you know that?"

"Am I the only one that noticed Roach's lips are swollen cause he's been sucking face?"

Roach blushed and covered his mouth when everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Well I'm not really surprised, I mean you two are practically connected at the hip." Soap said.

"Just don't fuck on our base." Merrick said, waving a finger at them.

"I don't think they can... they're injured." Keegan put in with a smirk.

"Why are we discussing whether or not we are currently able to fuck?" Roach asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Cause we're bored. Congrats though, you two are cute." Logan said, giving them a thumbs up.

"Ghost, hurt my child and I'll murder you." Luke warned.

"I won't." Ghost replied with a smile.

"Who said I was your child?" Roach asked.

"I did cause I raised you from like 13."

"Daddy!" He said in a little kid voice, holding out his arms.

Luke laughed and hugged him.

"I love you child."

"You guys are weird." Price chuckled.

"Did you know that when he was in high school, the kids always thought we were together?" Luke said, a smile creeping onto his face.

"No way." Hesh said with wide eyes.

"He's serious, they really did. When he dropped me off in the mornings they would point and laugh. It was really funny though because we're both smart asses and when they laughed at us we would start kissing and pretend to be messing around just to make them uncomfortable." Roach laughed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. The faces those people made were hilarious."

Wait, so you two have kissed before?" Kick asked.

"Yup, but it wasn't serious. We were just playing around."

"Mhmm, sure."

"You're gross." Luke said, making a face.

"How am I gross?"

"You're trying to say we see each other like that when we don't. Seriously, the only reason we did it was to make people uncomfortable. And it worked, too."

"Okay okay, fine."

Roach giggled and Ghost smiled at him.

"What?" He asked.

"You should've seen their faces..."

"You guys are such dumbasses."

"No! It was f-funny! Everyone thought I... was gay and the faces they would make when I entered a room, oh my god!" He said, cracking up.

Luke shook his head.

"My children are weird."

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe, that was such a cute chapter! I love you guys! I'll update again soon, so please review! ;)**


	47. Chapter 47

**A/N: Hello everyone! I totally get to go to Tennessee this summer! Yaaaassss! Oh, if anyone bothered to read my bio, you would know that I'm from Tennessee but I currently live in Florida... ewww. PLEASE DON'T STALK MEEE! But I love Tennessee. It's really quite lovely. Byebye! :)**

 _ **Italics= Chinese**_

* * *

Luke sighed as he carried two trays of food through the hallways that led to the rec room. Ghost and Roach needed to eat something and he wasn't gonna take no for an answer. He rounded another corner and reached the door, entering it and heading straight to the two injured men.

He held the trays out and said, "Eat something before you die. If you don't, Gary I'll lock you in a tiny closet. Ghost... I don't know what I'll do with you, but whatever I do I can promise you won't like it."

Roach paled several shades and Ghost just smirked and accepted the food.

"God, must you be so harsh?" He mumbled.

Roach was still frozen with a horrified expression on his face. Ghost poked him with his spoon.

"Hey, I won't let him lock you in the tiny closet so hurry and get that look off your face before it freezes there."

Roach shook his head and grumbled about assholes while taking the tray from Luke, who was smiling.

"How come they listen to you and not us?!" Soap whined.

"Just threaten them. I told Roach I was gonna lock him in a tiny closet." He replied with a shrug.

"That's just mean." Keegan said.

"It works though, doesn't it?"

They glanced over at them and saw Roach munching on an apple slice. They all noticed how pale he was now though.

"Damn Luke, I think you scared the color right out of him." Logan muttered.

They laughed and the others agreed. Roach jumped, startled by the sudden noise, but continued to eat after a moment. Ghost was left handedly spooning soup into his mouth. For once it was actually kinda peaceful. Then a cell phone rang and everyone checked theirs. After a moment of confusion, they discovered that it was Roach's. He set his half-eaten tray of food aside and answered it... in a different language.

" _Hello, how have you been?"_

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"What the hell is he saying?" Hesh asked.

"It's Chinese, I know that much. Although I have no idea what he's saying." Luke shrugged.

"I didn't know he knew Chinese..." Price said.

"Well, when he speaks to his contacts he usually leaves the room. He's probably only still here because he can't walk."

"How do you know that's a contact?"

"Cause he has them all over other countries. They're spread out across the globe."

" _Ah, yes. I apologize for my absence, I got caught up in a lot of things."_

He listened to the contact speak for a few minutes and then looked around the room, searching for something. Luke sighed and handed him a pen and some post-it notes.

"Thanks."

He wrote down a whole bunch of stuff while listening to whatever the contact was saying. After about ten minutes of this, he thanked them and hung up.

"Wow, Roach. That was interesting." Ghost said, patting him on the head.

He smiled sheepishly and hid his notes away.

"Goodness child, how much stuff do you do?!" Merrick asked, shaking his head in awe.

Roach shrugged and said, "Lots of stuff."

He still had a slight accent from speaking in Chinese for like 15 minutes.

"Hahaha, nice accent." Toad smirked.

He rolled his eyes and flipped him off. He glanced at his food, almost as if he were trying to decide whether he should eat more or not. He opted not to.

"Dude, you only ate like half of your food." Luke said, the disapproval clear in his voice.

He shrugged and said, "Too nauseous to eat more."

He laid down across the couch, his head resting in Ghost's lap. Ghost had eaten about the same amount as Roach. Archer glared accusingly at him.

"What's your excuse?" He asked.

He yawned and mumbled, "Tired, so fuck off."

"You're so mean!"

"I don't care."

He looked down and saw that Roach was already asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling as he took in shallow breaths. He smiled slightly, thinking for the thousandth time of how cute he was. He felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him and he carefully lifted Roach up and pulled his legs up onto the couch. He laid down and pulled the younger man into his chest, putting an arm around his waist to ensure that he didn't fall off. He closed his eyes and was asleep in seconds.

Luke glanced over at them and laughed, noticing the position they were in.

"Those two are so odd..."

This caused everyone else to look. Kick and Toad's faces lit up and they pulled their phones out.

"Oh my god! So cuuute~" Kick squealed, creeping over to them with Toad not far behind.

"They're gonna murder you two." Hesh warned.

"Yeah, and I refuse to clean up all the blood when they're done." Logan said, shaking his head.

They ignored their warnings and stood in front of the couch, both taking several pictures before running back to the rest of the group.

"Yay! Mission complete." Toad said happily, hiding his phone away.

"Huh... I'm surprised Roach didn't reach out and grab you just to scare the shit out of you." Merrick said, the disappointment obvious in his voice.

Luke stood and moved to a chair, grabbing it and dragging it in front of the couch. He sat down and pulled Roach's arm into his lap, examining the stitches there. Roach didn't so much as twitch, sitting completely still.

"Heeey! What did you put in their food?" Keegan asked.

"What do you _think_ I put in their food?"

"Uh... probably sedatives or something."

"Yup. Both of them need to have stitches removed and I don't feel like dealing with Gary's whining. Kick, would you mind getting me tweezers, scissors, disinfectant, and some cotton balls?"

Kick jumped up and left the room to retrieve the items.

"Well... he does whine a lot I suppose." Logan said thoughtfully, turning his head to the side.

"Part of the issue is he doesn't like being touched as a general rule. He also dislikes anything to do with medical stuff and getting stitches removed includes both, which is why he always refuses to sit still during the procedure." He explained.

"So like... He doesn't want to be touched at all?"

"Depends on how you touch him. God, this sounds like a very inappropriate conversation. Anyways, he doesn't mind hugs and stuff like that. It's... difficult to explain though. He's very peculiar."

"Peculiar? That's the word you would use to describe him?" Hesh asked with a raised eyebrow.

Luke shrugged and said, "Trust me, there's lots of words to describe him."

Kick re-entered the room, his hands full of the items Luke had requested.

"Thankyou."

He quickly started working and it didn't take long at all since Roach didn't move. He removed 2 sets of stitches in his left arm and 1 in the right, deciding to wait a couple more days to remove the ones in his leg. He cleaned the wounds and moved on to Ghost.

"Huh... I see why you just knock him out now." Archer commented.

Luke laughed and said, "It definitely makes the process easier."

"But why'd you knock Ghost out too?" Price asked.

"Oh... I didn't know how he felt about getting stitches removed. I also didn't think he would appreciate me knocking out his boyfriend for like six hours. And he needed the rest... so I kinda just did." He shrugged.

"I'm surprised neither of them noticed. Usually they would have." Soap said.

"Nope, Gary noticed. That's why he quit eating his food. The whole 'I'm nauseous' excuse was complete bullshit. Although I'm not sure if Ghost knew."

"He notices everything! It's not fair!" Archer complained.

"Not _everything._ Neither of them noticed that you and Kick took pictures of them sleeping." Keegan pointed out.

"Well... that's true, but they notice everything else."

No one could argue with that. Luke removed 3 sets of stitches from Ghost's right arm and 1 from his left. Then, just as he had done with Roach, he cleaned the wounds. Then he cleaned up his supplies and put everything away.

 **Around 7 Hours Later...**

Roach lifted his head up from the couch and peered around the room, which was dark. He blinked several times in confusion.

"What happened...?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe... sneaky Luke. Well, it's good that they're recovering okay so far... maybe I should do something about that. This story has gotten too peaceful. Lol, anyways, you guys know the drill. Please review! ;)**


	48. Chapter 48

**A/N: Hi, how is everyone? Obviously you're all dead because I only got one review! So rude... I worked hard too... oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. Except beg you! Eh, I'll do that later. But because you didn't review Roach will get angst! *Evil laugh***

 _ **Italics= whatever language they're discussing.**_

* * *

Roach sighed as he listened to the Ghosts discuss his knowledge of languages. Luke was sitting in a chair beside the couch, quietly reading a book. The rest of the 141 had gone to get something to eat. He and Ghost sat boredly on the couch, both not really knowing what to do.

"Hey Roach! Do you know French?" Logan asked.

" _Yes, I'm really tired and I have a headache."_ He replied in French, knowing they had no idea what he was saying.

But Luke did. He looked up at him with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay? Do you want meds?" He asked.

Roach shook his head no.

"Damn, what did he say?" Hesh asked.

"He says yes and that he loves you guys."

He and Ghost made faces and Kick jumped up and ran to them, pulling the younger man into a hug.

"I love you too, Roach!"

He winced and pulled back.

"Ow ow ow ow owww! Stitches!" He whined.

Kick immediately let go.

"Oopsies, sorry child." He apologized, skipping back over to the Ghosts.

He pouted and whined again. Ghost just laughed and ruffled his hair.

"You're so cute."

"Damn straight."

He heard Luke laugh beside him and it made him smile. Then he turned and studied Ghost's face. He immediately felt guilty. It was covered with bruises of all different colors and sizes, and there was a line of stitches about an inch and a half long running across his cheek. He knew those marks were there because of him. If Ghost hadn't been in the room with him when John came, he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

The only reason John had still been there at all was because he had been too much of a coward to tell anyone... He felt the guilt and bad thoughts flow into his mind, the dam previously holding them back broken. Everything was his fault. He was a terrible person. Ghost would be okay right now if he wasn't here to ruin everything. Anxiety flowed freely with the guilt, making his chest feel like it had something heavy on it and he couldn't breathe. No matter how deep of a breath he took, he felt like he couldn't breathe. Sweat broke out on his forehead and his palms were slippery with it. His breath came in short gasps that made Luke look up from what he was doing.

"Shit." He mumbled, getting up and pulling him from the couch.

He carried him from the room, telling the others they'd be back in a while. Ghost looked really worried and the others looked curious, wondering what was wrong. He took him back to his room in the infirmary, setting him down on his bed. Roach already had tears spilling down his cheeks and he was shaking slightly. Luke just sat down and hugged him, knowing that he would be okay in a few minutes.

"Shhh, just breathe. It's okay." He said, running a hand through his hair.

"J-John hurt Ghost... all m-my fault..." He choked, the image of John smiling with a knife in his hand flashing before his eyes.

"No it's not. None of this is your fault."

He stayed silent, just trying to focus on not hyperventilating. His stomach felt terrible, wanting to launch all of his food onto the floor because his rapid breathing had unsettled it. He fought back the waves of nausea that washed over him and his breathing gradually slowed. His face was soaked with tears and as pale as the sheets of the hospital bed they sat on. At least Luke was there though. If he hadn't been there he probably would have hyperventilated and passed out, with no one knowing what was wrong. Luke held him at arm's length and wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"You okay?" He asked, the concern evident in his voice.

Roach nodded silently and sniffled, mumbling a quiet 'sorry' as he did so. Luke hugged him again and sighed.

"Don't apologize. You haven't had any panic attacks since before we got here and I was expecting one to happen soon anyways. At least you didn't get sick." He smiled.

"...Felt like it..." He muttered.

Luke laughed and ruffled his hair, his mouth stretching into a fond smile. Roach looked anxiously around the room, wishing Ghost was there. He was worried about him. What if something happened to him while they were in here? More tears gathered in his eyes just thinking about it. Luke noticed this and cupped his face in his hands.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I w-want Ghost..."

"You two are so funny, always worried about each other. Well he's probably worried about you right now too. You wanna go back to the rec room?" He asked, wiping at his face.

"Mhmm." He replied with a nod.

"Okay, we'll head back as soon as I make you look like you didn't die."

Roach giggled at that. He soaked a washcloth in cold water and wrung it out, then dabbed at his face with it in an attempt to hide the tear stains. His eyes were a bit swollen too, so he held the washcloth on them for a few minutes. After about ten minutes he looked okay and they went back to the rec room. The rest of the 141 was in there now too.

"Hey, where'd you two run off to?" Ghost asked worriedly.

Luke set Roach down on the couch beside him and sat down himself nearby.

"He had a panic attack. He's fine now, though." Luke said, giving a thumbs up.

Roach just hid his face with his arm in embarrassment, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Awww, he's blushing! Oh my god, so cute~" Ghost said, poking at him.

Roach growled and whacked at his hand.

"Is having panic attacks a... normal thing for him?" Soap asked hesitantly.

Luke nodded and said, "Yup, but he's a terd so he usually sneaks off and has them all by himself." He said, shooting the object of their conversation a glare.

Roach glared back at him.

"Don't hate, appreciate." He said in a high girly voice.

Luke couldn't help but smile.

"He's a lot better now though. As I said before, he used to have them all the time. Like literally _all_ the time."

"Okay Luke, I think they get the point." Roach muttered.

"Oi, don't be a brat. You know you love me!"

"No I don't." He said stubbornly.

Luke leaned forward and pinched his cheeks.

"Yes you dooo!"

"Owww! Okay fine, I love you!" He said, rolling his eyes.

 _"Dumbass."_ He mumbled in German.

"What the fuck did he just say?" Logan wondered aloud.

Ghost pouted.

"Don't you love me too?" He whined.

"Nope." He said, shaking his head.

"Brat."

* * *

 **A/N: Hehehe... you better review! ;D**


	49. Chapter 49

**A/N: Hi! So I have made a decision. I'm gonna end this story with 50 chapters, although chapter 50 will be more of an epilogue. Basically 49 is the last actual chapter... unless you count epilogues as chapters. Then I suppose 50 would be the final chapter. But anyways, there** ** _will_** **be a sequel in which John gets his ass handed to him! Yay! No, he didn't die after the helicopter crash. So yeah, after I finish this story I'll start working on the sequel! Does that make anyone happy? Tell me~**

 **P.S.- I apologize for the huge time skip...**

* * *

 **One Month Later...**

Ghost and Roach entered the room, together as usual. They both looked much better. They had all of their stitches out and their casts off. Finally they could both walk and although it still made them uneasy, one wasn't as worried about the other when he left the room. The nightmares still came, but not nearly as frequently as they had. They were both covered in scars, but that was nothing new. Most importantly they were both happy now.

"Hello bitches!" Roach chirped, sitting down on the couch with Ghost.

Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Oh, he's normally like this. Energetic and really perky. Although I suppose none of you have really seen his version of normal yet, have you?" Luke said thoughtfully.

"Nope, every time we've seen him he's been injured." Hesh confirmed.

"Well anyways, he's normally a very happy person. Aren't ya, Roach?" Ghost said with a grin.

"The fuck are you talking about? I'm an ass." He replied bluntly, causing Kick to choke on his drink.

"So... you admit you're an ass?"

"Yup, but it's not a bad thing. At least I'm a sexy ass."

Luke whacked him on the head.

"No, you're a dumb ass."

"Well that was mean." Keegan scoffed.

"It's okay Keegan, he's just jealous."

"Jealous of what? You don't have anything for me to be jealous of."

"I seem to recall you saying he had nice abs..." Archer said with a smirk.

Roach smiled.

"Where was I during this conversation?"

"Knocked out." Logan said.

"Damn it, I always miss the best things when that happens."

"Yeah, like me." Ghost said happily.

"You? Why would I miss you?" Roach teased.

"Cause you love me~"

"I suppose that's true." He admitted.

"Lulu, when's the last time you had a girlfriend?"

Everyone turned to stare at him. Luke facepalmed.

"Who the hell is Lulu?" Price asked.

"That's Luke's nickname. He hates it."

"Then why would you use it?"

"To annoy him! Duh! Why the hell else would I use it?!"

"I swear to god if you call me Lulu again I'm gonna lock you in the tiny closet for an hour." Luke threatened.

Roach paled and immediately shut up. Ghost laughed and hugged him.

"You're so mean to him!" Kick said sympathetically.

"He deserves it. Did you not hear him admit that he was an ass earlier?"

"Oi! I said a sexy ass, get your facts straight!" Roach snapped.

"Prove it." Soap challenged.

"Okay. Luke, what did I skip school all the time to do?"

Luke sighed and asked, "Why do I have to tell them? Can't you?"

"Nope, tell them bitch."

"He... He skipped school all the time to go pick up girls. He was like a fucking rabbit... always screwing girls." He said, shaking his head.

"Yes! It was LEGENDARY!" Roach said proudly.

"You're such a ho." Ghost said with a smile.

"You know, one time he snuck out at night to meet a girl and-"

"NOOO! WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THAT!" Roach yelled, pouncing on him like a tiger on a deer.

"He-"

"You talk too much! Shut your face!" He said, putting a hand on his mouth.

Luke bit him and he yelped and jumped back.

"The girl's father came home and- owww!- and he saw them going at it- stop that!- and Gary ran all the way home in his boxers because the father- quit!- started chucking stuff at him!"

Everyone's mouths fell open. Roach just laid on the floor, looking like he just wanted to melt into it and disappear.

"Oh my god!" Kick said, covering his mouth in surprise.

"Sounds like something that would happen to him." Ghost mumbled with a wolfish smile.

"Luke, I hate you." Roach muttered.

"I hate you too, child."

"Did that really happen?"

"No!" Roach said.

"Yes, it did. He's a liar." Luke stated.

"That was terrible. I had a fucking boner for the rest of the night..."

"Thanks for that information Roach, we really needed to know that." Merrick said flatly.

"Well it's true!"

"You deserved it for sneaking out." Hesh laughed.

"No man deserves to have stuff chucked at him while he's in the middle of trying to fuck a hot girl."

"Mhmm, sure. But now you have a boyfriend." Luke said, pointing at Ghost, who blushed under the attention.

"Yeah, I do. And he's cuuute~" He said, poking Ghost's cheeks.

"Stop ittt..." He said, hiding his face in embarrassment.

"Release your inner rainbow!" Toad said in a girly voice.

"Are you gay too, Toad?" Kick asked curiously.

"Eh, I'm bi." He shrugged.

"I feel like you and Archer are together..." Hesh said suspiciously.

"Nah, just friends." Archer said, munching on his toast.

"Yup."

"Hmmm, okay. Oh, when are you guys gonna head back to your base? You can't live here forever, ya know." Merrick laughed.

"We were thinking tomorrow. We'll drop Luke off too." Price said.

"Oh wait. Is Mark back at your house?" Roach asked.

Luke nodded. "He helped fix you up but you were kinda half-dead, so you must not have noticed him."

"Oops. Well, I wanna see him when we drop you off. Haven't seen him since I left..."

"Yeah, you can talk to him for a while."

"Who's Mark?" Ghost asked, a hint of jealousy edging into his voice.

Roach smiled but hid it by taking a large sip of his coffee.

"He's another friend of Gary's. Those two have known each other since 8th grade, they're very close." Luke explained.

They nodded understanding.

"That's cool. At least my loser has some friends." Ghost commented, ruffling his boyfriend's hair.

Roach pouted and tried to fix his hair.

"I'm not a loser."

"Nope, you're the king of losers." Logan said.

"You guys are mean." He whined.

"You love us though!"

"Nope, I don't love stupid people." He denied.

"You're so rude."

"Yea... but I'm sexy." He said, getting up and doing body rolls out of the room.

They all just stared. They hadn't expected that. Ghost recovered first.

"I don't know if I should be more surprised he can move his hips like that or that he just did body rolls out of a room..."

"Be shocked about both. It'll make him happy." Luke muttered, not surprised in the least.

"Huh..."

"What?"

The room went quiet and Logan was blushing like mad.

"Can... can he move his hips like that cause he's gay?" He asked timidly.

There was more silence, then all at once everyone started laughing.

"Yes... y-yes that's totally why!" Hesh stuttered through giggles.

"Okay, just to clarify something. Being gay does not give you the awesome ability to be sexy. It just highlights the sexiness that's already there." Roach explained, re-entering the room.

"Roach... you can't highlight sexiness." Kick coughed.

"Yes you can. I'm a living example." He said, twirling around like a little ballerina.

"Yeah, but you're also full of shit. That's why your eyes are brown." Soap said, trying not to smile.

"Yup, it's scientifically proven that if your eyes are brown you're full of shit. It's a serious medical condition." Keegan deadpanned.

Roach raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"What's it called then?"

"Shitimonia." Hesh supplied.

Roach laughed, but stopped when Luke punched his arm.

"It's not funny! I've treated it before! People die if they don't get treatment! And you need it immediately from the looks of you."

"...What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, growing pale.

"I'll have to remove your eyes." Luke said, completely straight faced.

Roach's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"NOOOOO!" He screamed, bolting from the room.

Then they promptly spent the next hour laughing their asses off and crying.

* * *

 **A/N: Lol, Shitimonia... that was great. I'm dying... please review and remember to tell me what you think about me writing a sequel! ;)**


	50. Epilogue

**A/N: Okay... so this is it. The last chapter. Oh my god... that's s-so sad! *runs away crying***

* * *

"Byebye!" Roach said, tackling Logan in a hug.

"Owww..." He whined.

"Quit whining! Love hurts bitch, so deal with it."

"You're so weird." Hesh sighed as he hugged him.

"Of course I am. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be interesting."

"I suppose that's true."

As he approached him, Kick ran away and hid behind Merrick.

"Oi! Come back here!" Roach yelled, running after him.

"Ahhh! Merrick! Save me!"

"No thanks."

"Wha-"

He didn't get to finish before Roach tackled him and hugged him.

"Owww. You know, you're heavy for such a small person..." He complained

"Yeah, well you're an assshole." He retorted, getting up and moving to Keegan.

He hugged him and hesitated at Merrick, who raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't know if I should hug you... you're scary."

All of the Ghosts started laughing.

"Oh my god! ...Why are you scared of Merrick?!" Keegan asked.

"Cause he's so fucking tall!"

"No, he's average height. You're short." Kick laughed.

Roach pouted.

"I am not!" He protested.

"Yes you are! But I love you anyways!" Ghost said, running over and hugging him.

"Rude. If something happens to fall on your head later from a high ledge, it's not my fault." He said, crossing his arms.

"Ghost, he's scared of Merrick." Hesh giggled.

Ghost immediately burst into fits of laughter as well.

"Why is that so funny?!"

"Cause... Cause it's _Merrick._ " Logan said, as if the reason were obvious just because he had said that.

"Ugh, you guys disgust me." Roach said, shaking his head before turning and hugging Merrick.

"Awww! He's cuuute~" Ghost squealed.

"No I'm not! I'm ferocious!" He said with a growl.

"No... no that was cute."

"Oh, hey Roach this is yours." Keegan said, pulling his knife out of his pocket and handing it to him.

It was the knife he had thrown at John, just barely slicing his arm. Although now it was shiny and clean, with not a trace of the violence that had occurred visible. He took it and spun it in his hand a few times.

"Thanks, that's my favorite one."

"Your welcome, I almost forgot about it. I meant to give it back to you after but... we were kinda busy." He replied, remembering the frightening speed at which Roach could move when he wanted to.

"Yeah, busy tying people to fucking beds. Kinky bitches." He mumbled with a smirk.

"Hey, that wasn't us. That was Archer." Hesh said defensively.

"Mhmm and he'll get what's coming to him for that later."

"Oh god, do you not have the ability to be nice? At all?" Ghost asked.

"Nope, I don't." He deadpanned.

"So mean." Kick said, shaking his head.

"So tying someone up and practically handing them to a horrible person is considered nice?" He asked evenly.

"Ummm... no, not exactly." Merrick answered hesitantly.

"Okay, then why are you opposed to the idea of me getting even?"

"Because we don't know what you'll do..."

"Yup and that's the fun part. Suspense."

"Roach! Ghost! Time to go!" Soap yelled.

"Okay!" They answered.

"Well, bye guys. I'll come visit sometime." Ghost said with a wave.

"And I'll sneak in at random times just to scare the shit out of you all." Roach said happily.

The Ghosts sighed.

"Okay Roach, you do that." Hesh said with a grin.

"It's true! I will!" He said, petting Riley on the head before heading to the helicopter with Ghost.

He was a bit nervous about going in a helicopter because the last time he was in one it had crashed, trapping him in a burning pile of wreckage. Even though he was all better now, it still scared him and he hesitated when he got close to it. Ghost noticed this and smiled at him.

"C'mon, we'll be fine and I'll be with you the whole time."

He thought about it for a moment, then nodded slightly and got in with Ghost following right behind. They sat together in the back as usual, Roach snuggling up to Ghost, hoping to find sleep.

It was gonna be a long ride.

* * *

 **A/N: Waaaah! So sad... thank you guys! I really appreciate everyone who's reviewed and liked this story, staying with me all the way to 50 chapters. The sequel will be called Revenge, because Roach will finally get revenge on John. Yay! I love you guys! Please continue to support me as I start working on writing Revenge. Bye! ;D**


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